Nothing to Do With Justice

Diane Fingleton survived a childhood dominated by a competitive father intent on sporting success. Shy and unsure, she found a career in the law and became the first female Chief Magistrate of Queensland. When she finally found the man of her dreams, it seemed as if life was working in her favour. When an intense workplace dispute escalated into litigation because of an email, Di found herself in the dock and charged as a criminal. Under close media scrutiny, Di was tried by a jury and found guilty. Stripped of her clothing, her dignity and her integrity, Di was subjected to the deprivations of prison life, while her new-found love battled on outside. She began writing this book on a prison computer in a lonely prison cell. Drawing on the strength she learnt as a girl, Di spent six months behind bars, only to discover on her release that she should never have been sent to prison in the first place. Vindicated by the High Court of Australia, Justice McHugh said she had ‘suffered huge public disgrace,’ and that ‘it would be hard to imagine a stronger case of a miscarriage of justice.’ This book is a shocking and riveting story of one woman’s determination and the struggle to survive.