Pora conviction quashed

The Herald reports:

The Privy Council in London has quashed Teina Pora’s convictions for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in south Auckland in 1992.

The decision means Mr Pora is a free man. His parole conditions immediately fall away. The former star schoolboy rugby league player was released on parole last April after spending 20 years in prison.

This is no great surprise.

The decision was reached by a panel of the judicial committee of the Privy Council made up of the New Zealand Chief Justice, Dame Sian Elias, and four Law Lords, including Lord Kerr.

Lord Kerr said written submissions on whether a retrial should be held would need to be filed within four weeks. “Those convictions had to be quashed and that Mr Pora’s appeal be allowed,” he said.

I can’t see much merit in a retrial.

Labour’s justice Spokesperson Jacinda Ardern said the case should have been closed years ago.

“Teina Pora has spent more than 20 years in prison, despite overwhelming public evidence that a miscarriage of justice occurred.

“The decision of the Privy Council to uphold his appeal has come with a hefty price tag not only for all the families involved in this case, but also the justice system.

“It didn’t have to be this way.”

She said Labour had been calling for a Criminal Cases Review Commission – an independent body to deal with claims of wrongful conviction and miscarriage of justice – for several years.

I agree that NZ should have such a Commission. Many US states have them, and they have corrected some significant wrongful convictions.