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October 14
Commission of Inquiry declined
- Government decision
consistently condemned
September
“Peter Ellis: The case for a commission of inquiry”
by Ross Francis
Independent
Researcher
Author of “New
Evidence in the Peter Ellis case” NZ Law Journal, Nov 2007
peterellis.org.nz
Media Release
28 September 2009
Minister of Justice must order Commission of Inquiry
In December 2008, author Lynley Hood and former National MPs Don Brash and
Katherine Rich wrote to Justice Minister Simon Power. They requested that a
Commission of Inquiry be established into the Peter Ellis/Christchurch
Civic Creche case.
They argued: "That the wrongs done in the creche case have not
been righted after all this time is nothing short of a scandal. They said
the case was New Zealand’s most egregious miscarriage of justice.
A new report into the case, by researcher Ross Francis, underscores the
incredible errors on which the case is based, peterellis.org.nz
spokesperson Brian Robinson says.
'Peter Ellis: The case for a Commission of
Inquiry' focuses
on the role of the Ministry of Justice and, in particular, the advice
tendered by its former chief legal counsel, Val Sim. In 2002, Sim advised
the then-Justice Minister, Phil Goff, that Lynley Hoods book, 'A City Possessed', did not disclose
any new information about the case requiring further inquiry. Francis
concludes that Sims advice was unbalanced. He claims that she supplied Goff
with "false and misleading information." Francis says that it is
"difficult to resist the conclusion that Ministry of Justice
officials, and the criminal justice system, have failed Peter Ellis."
In the light of this latest research, the Minister of Justice has no other
option but to order a Commission of Inquiry.
'Peter Ellis: The case for a
Commission of Inquiry' can be found here: www.peterellis.org.nz
ENDS
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