The Greens say Tasmanians need to know how widely AI has been used by the parole board, after fabricated case law was used to support a parole condition for Susan Neill-Fraser.
The convicted murderer spent 13 years behind bars after the death of her partner, Bob Chappell.
She had pleaded not guilty and appealed her conviction, but after she was granted parole in 2022, a court issued gag order prevented her from speaking to the media about her case.
The condition was lifted by Tasmania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.
“I have always maintained my innocence,” she said on Tuesday.
“I am continuing in the quest to clear my name and to advocate for the broader issue of wrongful convictions in Australia. I cannot walk away from this.
“I would like to emphasise that in challenging the parole order it has never been my intention to cause anguish or distress to others.”
Attorney-General Guy Barnett said the use of the hallucinated case law was not acceptable.
“I will be writing to the chair of the parole board seeking an explanation about its professional standards after inaccurate information was produced in this case,” he said.
“I will be seeking assurances around how the board will ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
The Greens said the situation was “deeply disturbing.”
“It raises bigger questions, for the Attorney-General to answer, about the use of AI in a manner that could lead to justice being denied to Tasmanians who come before the courts,” Greens justice spokesperson Cassy O’Connor said.
“There’s been plenty of warnings about how AI can generate false case law, and this is the most concrete local example.
“Are checks in place to ensure false material isn’t being relied on in the administration of justice?”
The parole board is an independent authority.
