What do you think?
Rate this book
Falsely Convicted: True stories of injustice in Australia
An Australian True Crime investigation of wrongful imprisonment by the bestselling author of The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop
Nine wrongful imprisonments. Nine innocent men and women freed.
Australia has a robust legal system. According to conventional wisdom, only the guilty end up behind bars. The reality is far more complex and, for First Nations Australians and other minorities in particular, the law can become a trap - one that has condemned completely innocent people to years, even decades, of wrongful imprisonment.
Impeccably researched and compelling told, Falsely Convicted exposes shocking injustices in all their devastating detail. These cases reveal how fragile truth can be, how easily lives can be destroyed, and how freedom - when it arrives - often comes only after everything else has been lost.
There's teacher Josephine Greensill, whose life was upended by allegations from two former students from three decades before. Henry Keogh, who discovered his fiancée dead in the bath, only to be accused - and convicted - of her murder due to catastrophic forensic failures. And Gene Gibson, an 18-year-old Aboriginal man from one of Australia's remotest communities, convicted of a killing by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hindered by language barriers and entrenched prejudice.
In Falsely Convicted, Walkley Award–winning crime reporter and bestselling author Neil Mercer turns his investigative skills toward the most chilling crimes of the ones committed by the system itself.
Nine wrongful imprisonments. Nine innocent men and women freed.
Australia has a robust legal system. According to conventional wisdom, only the guilty end up behind bars. The reality is far more complex and, for First Nations Australians and other minorities in particular, the law can become a trap - one that has condemned completely innocent people to years, even decades, of wrongful imprisonment.
Impeccably researched and compelling told, Falsely Convicted exposes shocking injustices in all their devastating detail. These cases reveal how fragile truth can be, how easily lives can be destroyed, and how freedom - when it arrives - often comes only after everything else has been lost.
There's teacher Josephine Greensill, whose life was upended by allegations from two former students from three decades before. Henry Keogh, who discovered his fiancée dead in the bath, only to be accused - and convicted - of her murder due to catastrophic forensic failures. And Gene Gibson, an 18-year-old Aboriginal man from one of Australia's remotest communities, convicted of a killing by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hindered by language barriers and entrenched prejudice.
In Falsely Convicted, Walkley Award–winning crime reporter and bestselling author Neil Mercer turns his investigative skills toward the most chilling crimes of the ones committed by the system itself.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2026
Given that it’s kind of a bummer, I think Falsely Convicted could have done with a strong introduction and/or conclusion, some kind of unifying message that’s a little more hopeful than “it could happen to you or your loved ones, and if it does, you’re on your own, kid”. As fascinating as these stories are, I finished Falsely Convicted feeling rather discouraged and despondent.
My full review of Falsely Convicted is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Falsely Convicted is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
Displaying 1 of 1 review