KATHLEEN Folbigg has been pardoned, NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley has announced, sensationally ending a 20-year incarceration.
Mr Daley said he had received a memorandum from former NSW chief justice Tom Bathurst, who headed the second inquiry into Folbigg's convictions, ahead of a final report.
The convictions are not quashed, but an unconditional pardon means she will not have to serve the rest of her sentence.
It means there is reasonable doubt relating to "all of her 2003 convictions", Mr Daley said.
Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003 for killing her four children and is serving a 25-year minimum sentence after being found guilty of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter.
Mr Daley told reporters in Sydney that Mr Bathurst said he had "reached a view there is reasonable doubt as to the guilt of Ms Folbigg".
While his final report is yet to come, Mr Daley said he had accepted an offer of Mr Bathurst's summary findings.
Mr Daley said he had sought advice over the weekend and weighed his options after receiving the memorandum detailing those positions on Friday.
"I consider that his reasons establish exceptional circumstances of the kind that weigh heavily in the favour of [a pardon]," he said.
Mr Daley said he had spoken to Craig Folbigg, noting it would be a difficult day for him, and had ensured Ms Folbigg had support.
"That's a private conservation, but I had a lovely conversation with him today," Mr Daley said when asked about Mr Folbigg's reaction to his former wife's pardon.
Mr Daley said he had not spoken to Ms Folbigg directly and was unaware of her reaction, but had taken steps to ensure she had support when she found out ahead of the press conference.
He urged people not to harass Ms Folbigg and "let her get on with the rest of her life".
"It's been a 20-year ordeal for her," Mr Daley said.
"If she's not out already she will be soon."
He said it was premature to consider whether compensation would be payable.
"This has been a terrible ordeal for everyone concerned and I hope that our actions today can put some closure on this 20-year-old matter," Mr Daley said.
Folbigg was met at the Clarence Correctional Centre in Grafton by her long-time friend and fierce advocate Tracy Chapman, who has a property on the NSW north coast.
Greens MP and supporter Sue Higginson told reporters "She's walking, she's outside, she's in the sunshine... justice has been done".
"Tracy has a bed made for her and that's where she'll be sleeping tonight," Ms Higginson said.
In a statement released via Ms Folbigg's lawyers, her long-time friend Tracy Chapman described each of the four children.
Caleb, even at 19 days old was a placid baby with intense eyes and long fingers of a future piano player, while Patrick, despite all his medical issues with epilepsy and blindness, was focused on discovering the world around him through his hands, she said.
"Sarah was cheeky, poking her tongue when you called her name, and found fun and joy in the simplest of things - playing with her toys and chasing her dad around," Ms Chapman said.
"Laura was an empathetic and compassionate little kid. They are all missed every day.
"I know the past 20 years have been horrific for Kathleen, not least for the pain and suffering she has had to endure following the loss of her four children. They were gorgeous children."
Ms Higginson described Ms Folbigg's matter as "our Lindy Chamberlain case," indicating that Ms Folbigg will be pursuing compensation for the "twenty years of her life that has been lost".
"Not one single day passed where Kathleen Folbigg didn't maintain her innocence," Ms Higginson said.
Ms Higginson indicated Ms Folbigg would be seeking compensation or an "ex gratia payment of some sort".
"Whatever that sum looks like may be the biggest sum that we can imagine," she said.
Ms Folbigg's lawyer, Rhanee Rego, thanked the Attorney General for making "an evidence-informed decision".
"This case reminds us that we are all human and our legal system can make mistakes," she said.
"It also reminds us that we have the capacity to do great things in the pursuit of truth."
It was Ms Folbigg's hope that the legal system will thoroughly investigate sudden infant deaths before seeking to blame parents without good reason to do so, she said.
"This case should reignite the discussion to strengthen the interactions between law and science, to make important reforms so that the legal system makes decisions based on the best scientific evidence available, not speculation.
"It is impossible to comprehend the injury that has been inflicted upon Kathleen Folbigg - the pain of losing her children, close to two decades locked away in maximum security prisons for crimes which science has proved never occurred."
The decision also highlighted the need for Australia to consider seriously implementing an independent body for reviewing miscarriages of justice, such as those which have been established in the United Kingdom, Scotland, Norway, New Zealand and Canada.
"We strongly urge the Attorneys-General across the country to prioritise a review of their post-conviction review systems as a matter of priority.
"Ms Folbigg's freedom ... is a breakthrough moment on a long and painful journey. We have all been inspired by her persistence for the truth to be known."
In his memo, Mr Bathurst said he was unable to accept the proposition that Ms Folbigg was "anything but a caring mother for her children".
He also found that her diary entries were likely the writings of a grieving and possibly depressed mother, blaming herself for the death of each child, as distinct from admissions that she murdered or otherwise harmed them.
Rather, the evidence pointed to the "reasonable possibility" that three of the children died of natural causes - in the case of Sarah and Laura Folbigg, as a result of a genetic mutation known as CALM2-G114R, and Patrick was likely to have died from an epileptic incident.
Mr Bathurst advised that due to the volume of submissions and evidence, it would take some time for the formal report to be finalised.
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