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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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Convicted Christchurch paedophile
Peter Ellis hopes to apply to the Privy Council for leave to appeal his 1993
convictions for abusing children within the next few weeks. Ellis' lawyer, Judith Ablett Kerr
QC, of Dunedin, said today the petition seeking leave to appeal would be
filed "fairly shortly" in the hope of a hearing before the law
lords take their Northern Hemisphere summer break over August and September. As the Privy Council hearing for
convicted Dunedin multiple murderer David Bain wound up in London today (NZ
time), attention turned to previously flagged appeals by Ellis and possibly
convicted Wellington killer John Barlow. The right to appeal from New
Zealand-based courts to the Privy Council was abolished as from January 1
2004, with the establishment of the Supreme Court. Appeals can still be made in cases
where the Court of Appeal made its final judgment or decision before that date.
Mrs Ablett Kerr said the Ellis
appeal had struck "significant problems" with the previous
solicitor-general unwilling to recommend funding for it. "Peter Ellis doesn't have a
Joe Karam (financial backer)," she said. "Poor Peter really has to
rely on me and my small team doing it on a pro bono basis." Parliament's justice and electoral
select committee recommended in August 2005 that the attorney-general not
oppose a Privy Council appeal bid by Ellis, who was convicted of sexually
abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre, where he worked.
Ellis served two-thirds of a
10-year sentence but has always maintained his innocence. Mrs Ablett Kerr said the Ellis
petition seeking leave to appeal to the Privy Council – the first stage in a two-part
process – "should be filed fairly shortly". The issues were "quite
technical" but she said she was "quite confident" leave would
be granted. "You've got to put up a
pretty solid case, but hopefully we'll have that. There's a lot of hard work
been done." Mrs Ablett Kerr said the long
appeal process had taken its toll on Ellis. "It's very wearying for
Peter. The whole thing is very wearying and he would really like some closure
on it." The case of convicted double
murderer John Barlow could yet also end up before the law lords in London. The Wellington antique dealer was
convicted in 1995 of killing father-and-son businessmen Gene and Eugene
Thomas in their city office a year earlier. He has served 12 years of a
14-year minimum non-parole sentence in Rimutaka Prison. Juries had twice failed to reach a
verdict. At the third trial, FBI scientist Charles Peters offered new
evidence – "comparative lead bullet analysis" – to link the bullets
found in the bodies to those found at the Happy Valley landfill and belonging
to Barlow. The FBI has since abandoned the
bullet tests after research found they produced a high rate of false matches.
Barlow's lawyer, Greg King, sought
a royal pardon last year on the basis that the evidence used to convict him
was flawed. In October, the Justice Ministry
issued a report, signed by the governor-general, declaring there were no
grounds for the pardon and refusing to send the case back to the Court of
Appeal. Mr King said today that he had
responded to the report and it had been referred back to Justice Minister
Mark Burton within the last three weeks "with a request that he change
the decision and that the case be referred back to the Court of Appeal".
"If we're successful, we go
back to the Court of Appeal. If we're not successful, then we obviously have
to consider the options – the only one being the Privy Council." |
