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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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Call for doctors and lawyers to hand over information when criminal
convictions thought wrongful A retired judge wants
investigators of wrongful convictions to be given sweeping powers to order
doctors and lawyers to hand over patient and client records. Sir Thomas Thorp, whose recent
report on miscarriages of justice suggested up to 20 inmates might be wrongly
locked up, has called for an independent body to investigate wrongful
convictions. Post-appeal claims are dealt with
by two or three people within the Ministry of Justice, and critics say the
system is obscure, too restrictive and has a vested interest in maintaining
the status quo. Thorp wants a body with similar
powers to Britain's Criminal Cases Review Commission to be able to see
documents usually protected by confidentiality. Privacy laws prevent the
information being divulged outside the commission and courts. Thorp said staff of an independent
body in New Zealand would need "all their investigative powers".
The British law allowing access, but with an obligation for privacy, was
"splendid". In the UK, such powers have led to
convictions being quashed in several recent cases, for example, where the
complainant in a sex case gave different versions of events to the courts and
her doctor. They have also uncovered
unsubstantiated claims of rape which cast doubt on later cases. Thorp was a guest speaker at
Friday's conference on miscarriages of justice at Auckland University. In the audience were Peter Ellis -
widely believed to have been wrongfully convicted of child abuse - Chris
Watson, the father of Scott Watson who is serving a life sentence for the Ben
Smart and Olivia Hope murders, and Joe Karam, who failed after many years of
effort to have the murder convictions of David Bain overturned. About 10 to 15 inmates a year seek
post-appeal conviction reviews under the governor-general's royal prerogative
of mercy. Such claims are dealt with by the ministry and referred back to the
courts on the recommendation of the justice minister. Thorp found that of 53
applications dealt with between 1995 and 2002, seven had been referred back
to the appeal court and convictions had been quashed in four. Thorp said an independent body
would need case managers with "investigative expertise" in areas
such as DNA technology. INNOCENT MISTAKE / Focus C1 STAR-TIMES' OPINION / Focus C10 |
