Application by Crespin Adanguidi pursuant to s 78 Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW)

The applicant, Crespin Adanguidi, applied to the Supreme Court under section 78 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) for an inquiry into his conviction for murder, as well as the sentence of life imprisonment imposed. The application was made on the basis of new evidence, including expert reports that provided insights into the relationship between prodromal or first episode schizophrenia and violent offending, which were not available at the time of the original trial. The applicant's defences of mental illness and substantial impairment were rejected by the trial court, but the new evidence suggested that these defences should have been considered more favourably.

The legal issues before the court were whether there was a doubt or question as to the applicant's guilt, and whether the application should be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal under section 79(3) of the Act. The court considered whether the new evidence raised a substantial doubt as to the applicant's guilt, and whether there were special circumstances that warranted the application being referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The court also considered whether the applicant had exhausted all other avenues of appeal.

The court found that the new evidence did raise a substantial doubt as to the applicant's guilt, as the expert opinion in the new reports diverged from that given at trial and confirmed the nature of the applicant's illness at the time of the offending through subsequent treatment. However, the court also found that there were special circumstances that warranted the application being referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal, as the applicant had not yet exhausted all other avenues of appeal. The court therefore refused the application for an inquiry into the conviction and sentence, but referred the whole matter to the Court of Criminal Appeal on the court's own motion.