PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In response to the stunning number of exonerations enabled by DNA evidence, one of the most common explanations has been that all too often police and prosecutors are tempted to use devious, dangerous techniques in the absence of scientific evidence which can neatly provide a conviction. (A wrongful conviction at that. HL); One of these techniques - in addition to obtaining false statements or ' rigging' the identification processes (or both) - is by secretly ‘buying’ the evidence of prison informants, commonly referred to as ‘jailhouse informants’ or ’snitches.’ Top-notch investigative journalists Pamela Colloff and Mike White have dived deeply into the dangers posed by jailhouse snitches - from the USA and New Zealand. Their work has been evidenced by multiple posts on this Blog.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The only witness whose name is not public is Witness A. Documents obtained by Stuff show Witness A gave evidence in a number of high-profile murder and drugs trials in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Tamihere's. The man was charged with the manslaughter of his partner in the 1970s. In the mid 1980s, he was released from prison and arrested shortly after for supplying heroin. After his release, the man became involved in a major drug ring which focused on smuggling heroin into New Zealand. When police arrested him, he struck a deal to help bring down the others involved in the syndicate. Police then began to use the man as an informant, entrusting him to give evidence in some of the country's most contentious criminal trials. Tamihere told Stuff in 2017 how one juror was sick following A's account at his trial. "Halfway through the first guy's evidence, one of the jurors got sick. The evidence was that bad. I looked at the jury and there was nothing we could say which would change it. It was a done deal," Tamihere said.""
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STORY: David Tamihere to have Swedish tourist murder case reviewed again by Court of Appeal," by Reporter Edward Gay, published by Stuff.co on April 21,2020.
GIST: "Thirty years after being convicted of the murder of two Swedish tourists, David Tamihere, will have his case re-considered by the Court of Appeal for the second time.
Tamihere has been granted the rare legal life-line of a Royal Prerogative of Mercy after it was signed off by Cabinet and the Governor General on Tuesday.
The rare legal move means Tamihere's case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration, 30 years after he was found guilty of murdering Urban Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen.
Tamihere was sentenced to life in prison and was released on parole after serving 20 years. He has always maintained his innocence.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said he had received advice on the case from the Ministry of Justice who were assisted by a retired High Court judge.
"As the matter will shortly come before the courts, I will not be making any further comment," Little said.
The order means Tamihere's case will be again heard by the Court of Appeal.
Tamihere has been represented by lawyer Murray Gibson for the past 26 years.
Gibson said the decision was "very appropriate".
The development comes three years after a key part of the Crown's case against Tamihere crumbled.
Three secret witnesses, all prison snitches, gave crucial evidence as part of the Crown's largely circumstantial case against Tamihere.
The three witnesses told the court Tamihere had confessed in graphic detail about how he had killed the couple.
Witness C, who has since been identified as Roberto Conchie Harris, was convicted of perjury in 2017.
Harris was sentenced to eight years and seven months imprisonment by Justice Christian Whata after being found guilty of lying at Tamihere's trial three decades ago.
Harris was already serving a life sentence for killing his cousin Martin Crossely and Crossely's partner Carol Pye in February 1983.
While in prison, he gave evidence at Tamihere's double murder trial, saying Tamihere had confessed to him he'd killed Hoglin and Paakkonen.
Following Tamihere's conviction, Harris recanted his evidence, saying he had made up the evidence after striking a deal with police.
Prisoner and jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor brought a private prosecution against Harris which was spearheaded by lawyer Murray Gibson.
The two-week jury trial resulted in Harris being found guilty on nine counts of perjury.
Since his murder conviction, Harris has been paroled twice and been recalled both times. After his initial release in 1995, he was recalled following a serious assault.
In 2008, he was charged with committing an indecent act on a young girl the same day he was released. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
A parole report released in 2012 labelled him as being at a high risk of reoffending.
Little is known about Witness B, who has since been identified as Stephen Kapa.
Kapa told police he met Tamihere in the south block of Auckland's Mt Eden Prison to attend church but instead the pair went to a cell and smoked cannabis.
Kapa said while watching TV, a news article about the Swedish couple came on. Kapa said Tamihere made comments about how their bodies "would never be found".
He said days later, the pair were again watching television when Tamihere told him he had "cut them up".
However, in 1991 Hoglin's intact remains were found near Whangamata, on the Coromandel peninsular, contradicting Kapa's evidence.
Kapa was killed in a car crash in 1995.
The only witness whose name is not public is Witness A.
Documents obtained by Stuff show Witness A gave evidence in a number of high-profile murder and drugs trials in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Tamihere's.
The man was charged with the manslaughter of his partner in the 1970s. In the mid 1980s, he was released from prison and arrested shortly after for supplying heroin.
After his release, the man became involved in a major drug ring which focused on smuggling heroin into New Zealand.
When police arrested him, he struck a deal to help bring down the others involved in the syndicate.
Police then began to use the man as an informant, entrusting him to give evidence in some of the country's most contentious criminal trials.
Tamihere told Stuff in 2017 how one juror was sick following A's account at his trial.
"Halfway through the first guy's evidence, one of the jurors got sick. The evidence was that bad. I looked at the jury and there was nothing we could say which would change it. It was a done deal," Tamihere said.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/121136224/david-tamihere-to-have-swedish-tourist-murder-case-reviewed-again-by-court-of-appeal
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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