Friday, February 7, 2020

Alan Hall: New Zealand: Defence provided by autism? (New report). Newshub, a television and radio New Zealand news service, (Reporter Mike Wesley-Smith) reports that a recent autism diagnosis of convicted killer Alan Hall raises doubts over his guilt..."New evidence in the bid by convicted killer Alan Hall to clear his name can be revealed by Newshub. The 58-year-old was jailed for murdering Auckland man Arthur Easton in 1985. Last year, Hall was diagnosed with autism and now his defence has an expert report which could throw doubt on his guilt."




BACKGROUND: TVNZ Investigator Bryan Bruce: Is Alan Hall innocent? "TV ONE's investigator Bryan Bruce is no soft touch. When the family of Alan Hall approached him at the end of the last season of The Investigator to look into Hall's murder conviction, Bruce told them bluntly he would have a look; but out of 15 major cases he has looked into, he's never found someone who was wrongfully convicted.  But as soon as he started his investigation, it was clear to Bruce that something was terribly wrong. Tonight's final episode of Real Crime: The Investigator sees Brucetake a look at the how the Crown got a conviction and why Bruce thinks he is innocent. Arthur Easton was stabbed with a bayonet during a fight in the hallway of his home in Papakura, South Auckland in October 1985. The police started their search looking for a 6' tall, strong, 18-year-old Maori male who had fought with Mr Easton and his two teenage 6' tall sons.   They arrested Alan Hall, a 5'8" asthmatic pakeha, says Bruce. And, despite a fierce fight in which the three Easton men fought with the offender Hall turned up at work the next day with not a mark on him, Bruce adds "There is not one drop of Alan's unique blood, not one hair off his head, not one finger print to put him at the scene of the crime. And neither of the Easton boys identified Alan Hall as the man who had killed their father." So how did the Crown get a conviction? The murder weapon and the bayonet belonged to Hall. The items he said had been stolen from his sleep out at his mother's house, but he did not come forward when the Police appealed for information. "Alan's not bright," says Bruce. "And when the police did finally turn up at his door, he told them several lies about what had happened to the bayonet and matters just escalated from there. "The family used the Official Information Act to get documents that the Defence did not know about at trial or at Alan's Appeal. What they reveal, in my opinion, is that Alan Hall did not get a fair investigation or trial.""
http://tvnz.co.nz/the-investigator/alan-hall-innocent-2854397/photos
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PASSAGE ONE  OF THE DAY: "The defence has a new report from a psychologist specialising in Autism. It says Hall's spectrum-disorder could have affected his ability to provide a consistent alibi and account of what happened to his bayonet and hat.  Hall first told police he's lost the items, then claimed they'd been stolen. "It has an impact on certain parts of a person's memory. And it seems to us like a reasonable explanation for some of the memory gaps," ((defence investigator  Tim) McKinnel said. The report also says Hall's condition could explain why he appeared emotionless to the jury - a trait Katie Maras is familiar with. "So an autistic person might feel emotional, but not necessarily display it in their facial expressions," the senior psychology lecturer told Newshub. Maras has conducted mock trials to see how a jury's perception of a defendant's culpability changes when they learn he has autism. "So when they were told about his autism, they were more likely to find him not guilty." And if they weren't told of his autism, they were more likely to misjudge the defendant's behaviour. "I guess that they can misattribute these behaviours to be more guilty. Not having any remorse for their actions."

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "For  Mckinnel, Hall's case is similar to another he worked on. Teina Pora was diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder decades after falsely confessing to murder. "Looking at Alan's case and the way he was dealt with by the criminal justice system, I think that this diagnosis will be at least as important as Teina's FASD diagnosis," McKinnel said. Behaviour once interpreted as evidence of guilt will now be used by Hall's defence team - to argue his innocence."

STORY: "Recent autism diagnosis of convicted killer Alan Hall raises doubts over guilt," by reporter Mike Wesley-Smith, published by Newshub on February 7, 2020.(Former lawyer Mike Wesley-Smith is a senior reporter for Newshub Nation.

GIST: "New evidence in the bid by convicted killer Alan Hall to clear his name can be revealed by Newshub. The 58-year-old was jailed for murdering Auckland man Arthur Easton in 1985.
Last year, Hall was diagnosed with autism and now his defence has an expert report which could throw doubt on his guilt.  To police, Alan Hall was a man without an alibi or remorse; a suspect with inconsistent stories about how his hat and bayonet ended up being used to kill Easton. Defence investigator, Tim Mckinnel, says prosecutors at Hall's trial said his behaviour was evidence of guilt. "Some of the ways he behaved and responded to police questions is really quite unusual. We now know after 34 years that Alan is in fact, autistic." The defence has a new report from a psychologist specialising in Autism. It says Hall's spectrum-disorder could have affected his ability to provide a consistent alibi and account of what happened to his bayonet and hat.  Hall first told police he's lost the items, then claimed they'd been stolen. "It has an impact on certain parts of a person's memory. And it seems to us like a reasonable explanation for some of the memory gaps," McKinnel said. The report also says Hall's condition could explain why he appeared emotionless to the jury - a trait Katie Maras is familiar with. "So an autistic person might feel emotional, but not necessarily display it in their facial expressions," the senior psychology lecturer told Newshub. Maras has conducted mock trials to see how a jury's perception of a defendant's culpability changes when they learn he has autism. "So when they were told about his autism, they were more likely to find him not guilty." And if they weren't told of his autism, they were more likely to misjudge the defendant's behaviour. "I guess that they can misattribute these behaviours to be more guilty. Not having any remorse for their actions." For Mckinnel, Hall's case is similar to another he worked on. Teina Pora was diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder decades after falsely confessing to murder. "Looking at Alan's case and the way he was dealt with by the criminal justice system, I think that this diagnosis will be at least as important as Teina's FASD diagnosis," McKinnel said. Behaviour once interpreted as evidence of guilt will now be used by Hall's defence team - to argue his innocence."

The entire story can be read at:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/02/autism-traits-of-convicted-killer-alan-hall-
 raise-doubt-over-guilt.html
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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