State awards $460,000 to John Button

9/4/03
The Western Australian Government has approved a $460,000 ex gratia payment to John Button in recognition of the serious injustice he suffered in being convicted and jailed 40 years ago for the manslaughter of Rosemary Anderson.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said Mr Button, now 59, suffered overwhelming emotional trauma as a result of his wrongful conviction, which was overturned last year by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
"The toll on him continues to be huge and has affected all aspects of his life, including his work capacity," Mr McGinty said.
Mr Button was convicted of manslaughter in May, 1963. He was sentenced to 10 years' jail, and served 5.5 years before being released on parole in December, 1967.
The payment is the largest ever approved in WA, almost three times the size of a $160,000 payment in 1997 to a man who was wrongly charged with serious offences, resulting in him losing his business and suffering severe difficulties over many years.
Mr McGinty said ex gratia payments were extremely rare and while there was no requirement for the Government to pay compensation, he believed the circumstances of this case were compelling.
"That is why, on the day the conviction was quashed and at a time when Mr Button was saying he would not seek compensation, I publicly stated that the Government would be sympathetic to an application," he said.
"The cost of the injustice to Mr Button can never be fully measured, and this payment does not attempt to set a figure on it. Rather, it seeks to recognise in a modest, tangible way that a serious miscarriage of justice has occurred."
Mr McGinty said the Government arranged for an expert financial planner to meet with Mr Button to determine his financial situation prior to deciding a compensation amount.
"The advice we received was that $400,000 would provide a modest retirement income of $35,000 for 23 years before the capital sum was exhausted. A further $60,000 was approved towards costs incurred in mounting his legal challenge," he said.
Minister's Office - 9220 5000