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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 sex cases 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. Evidence Act amendments
removed the need for corroborative evidence, and allowed 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. 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. |
