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  • 7 minutes ago
She's recognised as the only woman to ever be executed in South Australia. Elizabeth Woolcock was found guilty of murdering her husband more than 150 years ago. Questions over her innocence have lingered ever since, sparking a renewed push to clear her name.

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00:02The tragic story of Elizabeth Woolcock brought to life on stage.
00:06Yet today I get sentenced to death for something that I did not do!
00:11Set in the old Adelaide jail, the performance recounts how the 25-year-old was executed,
00:18found guilty of poisoning her abusive husband with mercury.
00:21I really want the audience to at the end of this play think did she or didn't she and not
00:30judge either decision.
00:32And it's not fair, it's not right, it's not comfortable.
00:35But being able to tell stories that aren't comfortable are what leads us to the truth.
00:39It was here in 1873 where Elizabeth Woolcock was hung,
00:44but the events which led to her conviction have long been challenged.
00:47It took a jury less than 30 minutes to reach their decision,
00:51but researchers and legal experts say she was sent to the gallows, an innocent woman.
00:57For Lisa Peters, seeking justice for Elizabeth has become her life's work.
01:02I don't think she'll leave us alone until something happens.
01:06She's launched a third and final petition for a posthumous pardon,
01:10arguing the case was led by an inexperienced lawyer and based on inconclusive medical evidence.
01:16At the time she wasn't even allowed to speak for herself.
01:20She was in front of an all-male jury.
01:23It was very misogynistic times.
01:26The case, once you look at it carefully and methodically,
01:29seems to rely on a lot of stereotype, rumours,
01:33and the evidence just doesn't cut it.
01:35A hope for delayed justice long denied.
01:41My name.
01:44You
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