Focus on
Police Competence |
|
Three Auckland
teenagers jailed for a crime they did not commit have been offered
compensation of around $160,000 each, Justice Minister Phil Goff said today. Lucy Akatere, McCushla
Fuataha and Tania Vini were convicted in August 2000 for the aggravated
robbery of a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Mt Roskill. They successfully
appealed their convictions on the basis that two principal witnesses had
retracted their testimony, and were released after spending approximately
seven months in jail. "The compensation
offer was first made to the girls on 24 March 2003," Mr Goff said. “I regret that, despite
many months of correspondence with the applicants’ legal counsel, the offer
of compensation has been rejected and the matter is now going to court, with
an initial hearing set for December 14. "The compensation
offer was in accordance with a report prepared by Kristy McDonald QC, who was
commissioned to assess the girls’ eligibility for compensation in accordance
with Cabinet criteria. "That criteria
applies to all people who have suffered this kind of miscarriage of justice,
and that was known in advance by the girls' counsel. The government continues
to belief it is a fair and appropriate offer and we will vigorously defend
the court action being taken. "Ms McDonald's
report confirmed that the girls were innocent of the charges and recommended
that an ex gratia payment be made to compensate them for the loss and
suffering incurred because of their wrongful convictions. “It was recommended
that compensation of $135,000 be paid to Lucy and Tania for non-pecuniary
losses such as loss of liberty, loss of reputation, loss or interruption of
family and other personal relationships, and mental and emotional harm. "A slightly higher
payment of $137,500 was recommended for McCushla because she received a
longer sentence after being identified as the offender who was alleged to
have wounded the victim. "In addition to
these amounts, Ms McDonald recommended reimbursement of pecuniary losses such
as legal and other costs incurred as a result of their convictions. “The government accepts
that the applicants are innocent and has decided to pay compensation at the
level assessed by Ms McDonald. “The government
acknowledges the stress and trauma suffered as a result of wrongful
conviction and imprisonment. The compensation offered to them represents
society’s obligation to correct the error, while recognising there are other
individuals in the justice system who suffer losses but receive no such
compensation, such as the victims of crime. “Calculation of the
amount of compensation took into account that the main reason for the arrest
and conviction of the teenagers was the evidence of two witnesses, which was
later retracted. "Although Ms
McDonald found that there were flaws in the Police investigation, she also
concluded that there was no evidence of bad faith on the part of the Police,
and that it is not possible to speculate on whether or not those shortcomings
would have had an effect on the outcome of the case. "I am satisfied
that the Crown has followed a proper process in dealing with the girls' claim
for compensation. Ms McDonald's report applied criteria previous agreed by
Cabinet, and the amount offered is fair and reasonable in the
circumstances," Mr Goff said. |