GIST: Convicted double-murderer Scott Watson has asked for bail pending a Court of Appeal hearing to reconsider whether he killed Olivia Hope and Ben Smart at New Year 1998.
At Friday’s bail hearing the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Stephen Kos , said he expected to give his decision on Monday.
Watson’s lawyer, Nick Chisnall, wanted Watson released on bail so he could help his lawyers prepare for the appeal.
Deputy Solicitor-General Madeleine Laracy, for the Crown, opposed bail and said facilities could be made available in prison for Watson to be properly involved in preparing his appeal. So far he had not sought the access already available.
But the judge suggested another course where Watson could be released, in the same way he is allowed out to work, to help his lawyers.
Laracy was given until the end of Friday to respond in writing to the suggestion.
Watson, 50, has maintained his innocence.
All but his last attempt to challenge his convictions have been dismissed, but in August 2020, the Governor-General referred the convictions to the Court of Appeal.
The appeal might be heard in June 2022.
The referral focused on the reliability of scientific testing of two hairs found on a blanket from Watson’s yacht, Blade, but already Chisnall is suggesting the scope could be widened to cover eyewitness accounts the Crown said pointed to Hope and Smart last being seen with Watson.
The judge said he did not see how the eyewitness evidence was covered by the Governor-General’s reference, and that would have to be discussed later.
The Crown alleged the hairs found on the blanket from Watson’s boat had come from Olivia Hope, 17, but Watson’s lawyers said there were questions about how the hairs were found and whether the scientific testing was flawed.
Justice Kos said the critical question for the bail issue was whether it was necessary for Watson to be released to prepare for the appeal, and what he could only do “outside the wire”. At that point he was still to be persuaded of that, and suggested the half-way house of work-type release.
Chisnall said it was in the interests of justice that Watson should be given a greater opportunity to be involved.
Watson was eligible to be considered for parole after serving 17 years of his life term, but so far parole has been refused. He is next before the board in November.
At the bail hearing the Crown said the board was the correct body to judge the risk to the community of releasing Watson, and so far the board said his progress towards release had been slow.
It would be a dangerous proposition to release him unless his criminal proclivities and risk factors were properly addressed, Laracy said.
But Chisnall said the risk the board said Watson posed was intrinsically linked to his failure to accept his convictions, and his attitude attributed to his frustration at being convicted of crimes Watson said he did not commit.
Laracy said the evidence it had seen so far to support the appeal added a dimension to what was at trial but it could not be said to be “fresh” evidence.
The families of Hope and Smart were opposed to bail being granted on a premature assessment of the merits of the appeal and the risk of releasing Watson on bail, she said.
Watson is now a classified as a minimum security prisoner.
Smart, who was 21, and Hope had been at New Year celebrations at Endeavour Inlet in the Marlborough Sounds. They were allegedly last seen with a man, boarding a yacht in the early hours of January 1, 1998.
No trace of them was ever found.
The case caused a sensation during the extended search for Hope and Smart, and during the three-month trial in 1999, and has remained controversial."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/126684639/scott-watson-wants-bail-while-he-appeals-against-convictions-for-hope-smart-murders
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/126684639/scott-watson-wants-bail-while-he-appeals-against-convictions-for-hope-smart-murders
