Scott Watson; New Zealand; Bulletin; Arthur Allan Thomas, the man wrongfully jailed for two murders in the 1970s, is lending his support to Watson, calling for a new trial for the convicted killer. "Although he had never spoken to Watson before, Thomas said his own experiences with the justice system meant he knew juries and the police could make mistakes. "I had great faith in the police, it wasn't until I went to the court that I realised what they had done by manufacturing the evidence against me. "I know things can go wrong, that juries can make the wrong verdict. I know that in my case because I'm an innocent man, but the police thought I'd done it so they moulded all the evidence against me." The fact that crown witness and water taxi driver Guy Wallace later recounted his identification of Watson as the person he dropped off with Hope and Smart warranted a new trial, Thomas said."...Stuff.co.nz

"Arthur Allan Thomas, the man wrongfully jailed for two murders in the 1970s, is lending his support to Scott Watson, calling for a new trial for the convicted killer. Watson has been in jail since 1999 when he was given a life sentence for the murders of Ben Smart, 21, and Olivia Hope, 17, in the Marlborough Sounds, but has always protested his innocence.........(Thomas) The 78-year-old was twice convicted of the murders of Jeanette and Harvey Crewe who were shot dead in their Waikato farmhouse in June 1970, before being dumped in the Waikato River. He served nine years in prison before being granted a Royal Pardon in 1979, and a scathing Royal Commission of Inquiry found detectives had planted a rifle cartridge linking him to the scene. Thomas, together with his daughter Bridgette and wife Jennifer, will attend a vigil for Watson in Christchurch next month. Although he had never spoken to Watson before, Thomas said his own experiences with the justice system meant he knew juries and the police could make mistakes. "I had great faith in the police, it wasn't until I went to the court that I realised what they had done by manufacturing the evidence against me.

"I know things can go wrong, that juries can make the wrong verdict. I know that in my case because I'm an innocent man, but the police thought I'd done it so they moulded all the evidence against me." The fact that crown witness and water taxi driver Guy Wallace later recounted his identification of Watson as the person he dropped off with Hope and Smart warranted a new trial, Thomas said. He said he had always supported Watson and suspected there was something wrong with the case against him. "He'd be bloody shattered, I know how he feels, that's why I'd like to do something about it and try to help him, because I know what it's like to be in Scott Watson's shoes. "I went through a bloody hard time, don't you worry. One part of my time I refused visitors because I lost faith in everything."
Thomas, who lives on a farm near Taupiri in the Waikato, previously lent his support to David Bain, whose convictions for the murder of his family were quashed by the Privy Council in 2007. New Zealand Public Interest Project trustee Nigel Hampton, QC, said cases like those of Bain and Watson showed there was a need for an independent body to be set up to review potential miscarriages of justice in New Zealand. A Criminal Cases Review Commission, similar to those set up in other countries, could examine cases to determine whether there were grounds for them to be ​looked at again, Hampton said. The constant debate surrounding the guilt or innocence of people like Watson and Bain was bad for the reputation of the justice system, which was something an independent body could help remedy, he said. "If you have constant headlines about people like Watson, October, Ellis and Bain, it undermines and gnaws away at public confidence in the system." "Why not set up a body that can study and objectively review the whole case and then come back with an authoritative answer."
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/82379097/arthur-allan-thomas-calls-for-retrial-for-convicted-murderer-scott-watson

See a backgrounder on the controversial Scott Watson case at the link below: "Watson still maintains his innocence, and says he never met Smart and Hope.  "I don't know where Ben and Olivia are," he recently told North and South. "I've never met them, never seen them." "They definitely never came on my boat and I definitely didn't murder them. And they've basically dumped me in jail for half my lifetime, it must be coming up, for something I haven't done.""
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/74123354/Explainer-the-controversial-case-of-Scott-Watson