March 04, 2015
Pora case highlights need for independent body
Labour's justice spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says the Teina Pora case highlights the need for an independent body to deal with claims of wrongful conviction and miscarriage of justice.
The Privy Council has quashed Pora's convicitons for the 1992 rape and murder of south Auckland woman Susan Burdett because it says his conviction should not be believed.
She says a Criminal Cases Review Commission such as those in England, Scotland, and Norway would replace the Royal Prerogative of Mercy process, which is a lengthy and potentially conflicted procedure, leaving the decision to the ministry responsible for administering the justice system.
Ms Ardern says the justice system failed Teina Pora, and he spent more than 20 years in prison, despite overwhelming public evidence that a miscarriage of justice occurred.
Canterbury University law school dean Chris Gallavin, who was involved in the Pora defence effort, says the Government would likely save money through the establishment of a review panel, because high profile defeats are extremely expensive and ultimately damaging to the reputation of the justice system.
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