Teina Pora: New Zealand; Team that has been relentlessly pursuing the possibility of a miscarriage of justice in this case which is to be heard by the British Privy Counsel asks "Why was Teina Pora gagged?" Stuff.co.

REMINDER: Sign on for  annual "Wrongful Convictions Day" launched by The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) -  effective October 2, 2014.  (For background - and link - see  previous post):

 http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2014/06/wrongful-convictions-day-aidwyc.html

Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

STORY:  "Why was Teina Pora gagged?" by Eugen Bingham and Paula Penfold," published by Stuff on June 29, 2014. (Producer Eugene Bingham and reporter Paula Penfold have done five stories about the Teina Pora case).

SUB-HEADING: "Claims innocence:  Teina Pora has denied being involved in the killing of Susan Burdett since his arrest and conviction for her murder."

PHOTO-CAPTION:  "Waiting for his case to be heard by the Privy Council."

GIST: "This story comes with a warning: there are authorities who would much rather we were not writing this, let alone have you read it. It traverses areas they believe threaten "the maintenance of the law" in this country. It concerns a man they have gagged. You have probably heard of him, but you have never heard from him, and the state has deemed that as far as it's concerned, that's the way it should be for the rest of his life. His name is Teina Pora. In November, his case will make history at the Privy Council, where his legal team, led by Jonathan Krebs and Ingrid Squire, will argue that he has been wrongly convicted of the 1992 rape and murder of Susan Burdett. It is likely to be the last criminal case from New Zealand that the London-based court will hear. When permission for the appeal was granted in January, Justice Minister Judith Collins said the decision showed the system was working "very well". Really? This is a system which saw Pora spend 21 years in prison. A system in which his case lay neglected without anyone making an effort to question its myriad flaws until four years ago when private investigator Tim McKinnel took it upon himself to start digging. It's a system McKinnel, Krebs and Squire have battled, often without funding, to get to the Privy Council. A system with a lattice of secrets and stone-walling that have made their task - and the media's - frustrating, to say the least. And a system which has deemed that Pora should be denied one of the most basic human rights - freedom of speech."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10207309/Why-was-Teina-Pora-gagged

"See also related story:  Teina Pora has not been "gagged" but told authorities he did not want to speak to media, the Parole Board says. Pora, who was jailed for the 1994 rape and murder of Susan Burdett in her South Auckland home, was granted parole in March pending his appeal to the Privy Council, with the special condition that he not contact the media "directly or indirectly". TV3 journalists Eugene Bingham and Paula Penfold published a piece in yesterday's Sunday Star-Times saying Pora had been "gagged" by authorities."

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10215548/Pora-not-gagged-Parole-Board

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;