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Victoria’s top court rules on Erin Patterson’s appeals in mushroom murders case

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly left-leaning (75%).

6 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Victoria’s highest court handed down its decision on Friday on two appeals by Erin Patterson, who was convicted of murdering three people, including her in-laws, after they ate beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms in 2023. Sky News reports that the court refused her bid to appeal against her convictions. CNN reports that the appeals court found her sentence too light and that she will be jailed for life. Earlier Guardian and New York Times coverage said the court would also decide whether she could face a retrial or a longer prison term. The supplied text does not give the court’s reasoning.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Victoria’s Court of Appeal was due to rule on Friday on two appeals by Erin Patterson against her triple murder conviction and sentence.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

  2. Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering three people, including her in-laws, who died after eating beef Wellington with poisonous mushrooms at a 2023 lunch.

    Reported byLeft2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian, The New York Times
    Center
    Sky News

  3. Sky News reported that the court refused Patterson’s bid to appeal against her convictions.

    One outletSky News· Center

  4. CNN reported that the appeals court found Patterson’s sentence too light and that she will be jailed for life.

    One outletCNN· Left

  5. Before the ruling, the court was expected to decide whether Patterson could face a retrial or a longer prison term.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that Victoria’s Court of Appeal ruled on Erin Patterson’s appeals in the mushroom murders case. The left’s coverage, mostly previews plus one CNN outcome headline, centers on the sentence being too light and a life term, while Sky News, the center report, leads with the refused appeal against conviction.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left outlets name Patterson as a “mushroom murderer” or “killer” and, in the outcome headline, focus on the sentence being too light and a life term, while earlier headlines preview the ruling as a retrial or longer-sentence question.

    Mushroom killer to be jailed for life after appeals court finds sentence too light
    CNNLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Sky News’s headline leads with the refused appeal against conviction and describes the case as poisonous mushroom murders, without mentioning the sentence appeal.

    Australian mother refused appeal against conviction for poisonous mushroom murders
    Sky NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read all 6 articles in context. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the sentence being too light
  • the life term
  • possible retrial or longer jail term
  • the triple murder conviction

Leaves out

  • the refusal of the conviction appeal reported by Sky News

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • appeal against conviction refused
  • the beef Wellington meal
  • the three deaths

Leaves out

  • the sentence appeal and life term reported by CNN

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • Sky NewsCenter

    Australian mother refused appeal against conviction for poisonous mushroom murders

    An Australian woman who murdered three people by serving them beef wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms has been refused a bid to appeal against her convictions.

    Read at Sky News (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The Guardian, Oct 28, 12:30 AM EDT

  • Center

    1 day 15 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 29, 3:36 PM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The GuardianLeftOct 28, 12:30 AM EDT
  2. Sky NewsCenterOct 29, 3:36 PM EDT
  3. The New York TimesLeftOct 29, 5:00 PM EDT
  4. CNNLeftOct 29, 7:22 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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