Kathleen Folbigg is "beyond happy" after walking from her prison cell of 20 years into the arms of jubilant friends and loyal supporters.
Advocates for the 55-year-old mother of four celebrated after Folbigg was unconditionally pardoned on Monday.
Vision shows her grinning widely as she is reunited with and embraced by an ecstatic friend after emerging from a Corrective Services vehicle.
Folbigg was jailed in 2003 after a seven-week jury trial found her guilty of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter over the deaths of her babies Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura between 1989 and 1999.
She was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with the term later reduced on appeal to 30 years with a minimum of 25.
Arriving at the rural home of lifelong mate and fierce advocate Tracy Chapman, a joyful Folbigg thanked her supporters in a video aired by 7 News.
“I can’t thank everybody enough for all of the support and all of the hard work that has gone into this moment,” she said from the town of Glenreagh, south of Grafton.
"I’m beyond happy, it’s ridiculous. I’m in shock, so thank you."
Folbigg is set to stay at the property over the coming days.
Greens MP and supporter Sue Higginson was one of the first to reveal Folbigg had been released from Clarence Correctional Centre in Grafton.
"She's walking, she's outside, she's in the sunshine ... justice has been done," she told reporters.
Peter Yates acknowledged feeling angry about his friend's two-decades in jail but conceded it was "a virtue that's probably not that useful".
"That anger is not going to bring back 20 years of being incarcerated," he said.
"NSW ... incarcerated a poor woman who lost her four children for 20 years - it's terrible."
The polarising case had been hotly debated in the weeks leading up Folbigg's release. A fresh inquiry heard credible evidence her children may have died of natural causes.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman described it as a tragedy on many levels, saying there were no winners.
"It's a tragedy for the children. It's a tragedy for (ex-husband) Craig Folbigg," he said.
"It's a tragedy that someone has been incarcerated for 20 years."
Attorney-General Michael Daley broke the long-awaited news on Monday, saying he had received an advance copy of a summary of an inquiry by former chief justice Thomas Bathurst into Folbigg's convictions, which found reasonable doubt about her guilt.
Mr Daley agreed with Mr Bathurst, who said he was "firmly of the view" there was reasonable doubt.
"There was no physical evidence the children were smothered," Mr Bathurst found, saying he was “unable to accept … the proposition Ms Folbigg was anything but a caring mother for her children”.
Mr Daley said Governor Margaret Beazley had accepted his recommendation she should "exercise the royal prerogative of mercy and grant Ms Folbigg an unconditional pardon".
"Justice can ultimately be done even if it takes a long time," he said.
Ms Higginson indicated Folbigg would pursue compensation for the "20 years of her life that has been lost".
"This is our Lindy Chamberlain case," she said referring to the woman wrongfully convicted of killing her nine-week-old daughter and later awarded $1.3 million in compensation after being sentenced to life and spending four years in jail.
Folbigg's pardon does not mean her convictions will be automatically quashed.
But Ms Higginson believes they will be withdrawn and pointed to an admission from the director of public prosecution about reasonable doubt.
"That means most likely there will be no objector in terms of her application to have her convictions quashed in the criminal court of appeal," she said.
