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Focus on Police
Competence |
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Three young Auckland women jailed
for a crime they did not commit have accepted compensation from the
government. Tania Vini, Lucy Akatere and
McCushla Fuataha were convicted in August 1999 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 around seven months in jail. The compensation ranges from
between $162,000 and $176,000. The women had been seeking a
million dollars compensation, but reluctantly agreed to this deal in March. It has taken another seven months
for the money to be paid. Their lawyer Gary Gotlieb believes
the reason the case has been handled so badly by the government, is because
the trio are all Polynesians. He says the women wanted more but have simply
run out of patience. Gotleib is disgusted at the
government's handling of the situation. But, Justice Minister Mark Burton
says he is pleased the matter has been resolved. He says the government accepted
the girls' were innocent and offered the trio compensation in 2003. But that
wasn't accepted by the women's lawyer. |
