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Three teenage girls who
spent seven months in jail for a crime they did not commit may sue the
Government over its "woefully inadequate" compensation offer. Their lawyer, Gary
Gotlieb, said the offer was a fraction of what he believed his clients
deserved. "When you compare it with previous payments, it's just not
enough. Woefully inadequate is the term I would use." He would not say how
much was offered, but the formula for calculating compensation suggests it
could be less than $100,000 each. Mr Gotlieb said he was
considering further action, and had not ruled out a law suit. The girls, Lucy
Akatere, Tania Vini and Krishla Fuataha, went to Mt Eden Women's Prison in
August 2000 after being convicted of bashing, slashing and robbing a
16-year-old girl in the Auckland suburb of Three Kings. At the time, Ms
Akatere was 15 and the others were 14. They are now 18 and 17 respectively. Their convictions were
based on a 13-year-old girl's false evidence. She claimed to have seen the
attack. Ms Fuataha, who was
said to have cut the victim with a pair of scissors, was jailed for two years
and the others for 18 months. They were freed in early 2001 when the witness
admitted lying and their convictions were quashed that October. At the time, Mr Gotlieb
said he would seek hundreds of thousands of dollars, based on other cases. In July 2001, David
Dougherty received $868,000 for the 3<<1/2>> years he spent in
jail for a rape he did not commit and in 2000 a man wrongly convicted of
sexual abuse received $570,000 for 14 months in prison. Since those cases, the
Government has adopted new compensation criteria limiting how much can be
paid. The criteria include $100,000 for each year spent in jail, paid on a
pro-rata basis, meaning the girls would be eligible for $58,331 each. The formula also allows
an extra $100,000 for non-pecuniary losses, which can be adjusted upwards for
aggravating factors such as fabricated evidence or downwards for factors such
as the accused's conduct contributing to the wrongful conviction. Mr Gotlieb said he was
unhappy because the case had dragged on so long and the offer was far too
low. "You ask any
member of Parliament who was wrongly arrested and put in jail for one month with
their careers ruined what they would say if they were told all they will get
is one twelfth of $100,000. What would they say?" A spokesman for Justice
Minister Phil Goff said the offer was calculated by Queen's Counsel Kristy
McDonald. The Government would not comment on the figure as the negotiations
were still confidential. |
