The complainant was the key witness in the case, and gave evidence in front of the jury for at least five days.<\/p>\n
Today, defence barrister Dermot Dann KC argued that the judge, Frank Gucciardo, should postpone plans to sentence Carr next week.<\/p>\n
The legal move, known as a “stay”, would open the door for Carr to apply for bail ahead of a legal challenge in the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d54591ed942f3ee98cd31ae29c33e872.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Dermot Dann (front) told the court the guilty verdicts against Ralph Carr (left) were a miscarriage of justice. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
Mr Dann said it was the first time in 35 years he had made such an application, and described the jury verdict as “the most obvious miscarriage of justice I’ve ever seen”.<\/p>\n
“Anyone who was in court who saw and heard the complainant give evidence in this trial should be very, very concerned; very, very uncomfortable about the guilty verdicts,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Dann said anyone who was comfortable with the verdicts had “lost sight of what justice is”.<\/p>\n
However, prosecutor Matthew Fisher accused Mr Dann of making a “political” and “emotional” speech that was inappropriate and questioned whether it was designed to attract media attention.<\/p>\n
Mr Fisher said the jury was aware of “issues” with some aspects of the complainant’s evidence, but still decided beyond reasonable doubt that she was raped by Carr.<\/p>\n
“Your honour should not entertain the stay application,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6232e833091cda3fb58d8cff30806311.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Ronald Ryan is seen here between two police officers during his murder trial for murder. (ABC Archives)<\/p>\n
In calling for a stay of sentence, Mr Dann referenced the cases of Robert Tait and Ronald Ryan, two men sentenced to hanging in Victoria in the 60s.<\/p>\n
Tait’s death sentence was eventually stayed, but Ryan’s was not, making him the final man to be hanged in Australia.<\/p>\n
Judge Gucciardo told Mr Dann his client was not the first person found guilty to proclaim their innocence and said it was not his task to re-assess the evidence considered by the jury.<\/p>\n
“What we had was a very conscientious jury who listened to the evidence, who listened to your very complete and, may I say, exceptional cross-examination of the complainant,” the judge said.<\/p>\n
“The whole process was exactly as it should have been.”<\/p>\n
In scenes that resembled a mock appeal, Mr Dann outlined 16 pieces of evidence the defence was challenging, pointing to alleged inconsistencies with the woman’s account of the night in question and other events.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787046313_614_d41d347d72804734b93f556698d1b256.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Ralph Carr appeared in the pre-sentence hearing without his trademark black wig. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
Carr began crying in the court dock as Mr Dann described his mental health issues and history of suicide attempts.<\/p>\n