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The
Christchurch Civic Creche Case |
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Sir Thomas Thorp's
report on wrongful convictions is most welcome. Wrongful convictions readily
arise in cases of a sexual nature where the prosecution relies on the
uncorroborated word of a complainant. Some complaints are decades old, when
no other evidence could possibly be available. They often rely on
"recovered memories" or "delayed recall" and other
deceptions. There are plenty of examples. For ideological
purposes, the Evidence Act was amended to remove the need for corroborative
evidence in these cases, and to allow so-called "expert witnesses"
to misguide juries as to childhood and adult behaviours after alleged sexual
abuse. The Peter Ellis case is the foremost example of this. Other protections were
also introduced for complainants. It is time to dismantle them, return to
common sense, and demand genuine evidence. A statute of limitation is
justifiable. Related matters also
need attention. Without investigation, testable evidence or trial, tens of
thousands of men have been wrongly "convicted" of sexual abuse by
ACC and its counsellors, and hundreds of millions of dollars paid in
unwarranted compensation. ACC compensation should not be available unless a
rightful conviction has been obtained. |
