BACKGROUND: WIKIPEDIA: "Alan Hall was convicted for the murder of Arthur Easton in 1985. His conviction, which was later overturned, has been described as one of New Zealand's worst miscarriages of justice.[1] In August 2023, the Government agreed to pay him $5 million in compensation, the largest nominal payout for wrongful conviction in New Zealand history.[2] Easton and his two teenage sons were attacked in their home by an intruder with a Swiss bayonet. All three were stabbed during the incident and Arthur Easton bled to death shortly thereafter. The intruder was described by Easton's sons and other witnesses as Māori, 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and strong.[3] When police spoke to Hall during their investigation he admitted he used to own a bayonet. Police then interrogated him without a lawyer. Hall's autism disorder was undiagnosed at the time. Under pressure from the police, he gave conflicting information about what had happened to his bayonet. There was no evidence linking Alan Hall to the scene of the crime. At the trial the police suppressed testimony from Easton's children that the intruder was Māori and failed to call a witness who said he saw a Māori man running away from the house. The police altered the written statement from this witness leaving out the reported ethnicity from the statement, while adding other erroneous incriminating information about Alan Hall into the statement. Police failed to disclose to the defence information about another suspect. Aged 23, Hall was found guilty and given a life sentence. He was released on parole after nine years, but was recalled in 2012 after breaching one of his parole conditions. He was released again in March 2022. He spent 19 years in prison overall. The Supreme Court of New Zealand acknowledged a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred and overturned his conviction on 8 June 2022.[4] In 2024, two police officers and a prosecutor were charged with perverting the course of justice, and a reward of $100,000 was offered for information leading to the conviction of the real murderer.[5]
Wrongful_conviction_of_Alan_Hall
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BACKGROUND: "Three men have been summonsed and will be charged for what police will allege was their role in the conviction of Mr Hall for murder." They will appear in the Manukau District Court on September 4. Basham said both the Hall and Easton families had been advised of the development. "We acknowledge both families have been seeking answers for a wrongful conviction, and answers as to who murdered Arthur Easton." A spokesperson for the Hall family said they welcome the developments. “Police and the Crown have long been aware of our teams concerns regarding the prosecution of Alan," they said. "This is a significant day for Alan and his family, but also the Easton family. "Alan understands, more than most, the importance of a fair trial, so now it’s time to let justice take its course." In 2022, the Supreme Court quashed Hall’s conviction after the Crown admitted an important piece of evidence had been “unjustifiably” altered, leading to a miscarriage of justice. A key witness statement was changed to remove the description of a man seen fleeing the scene as Māori – Hall is Pākehā. Hall was 23 when he was wrongfully convicted of murder, and 60 when his name was finally cleared. He endured four failed appeals during the process."
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/08/23/three-to-appear-in-court-over-alan-hall-case
STORY: "Trial delayed for men accused of perverting justice, by Reporter Simon Mercap, published by 1 News, on February 23, 2026.
GIST: "The trial of two men accused of perverting the course of justice over the wrongful murder conviction of Alan Hall has been delayed after one of the defendants was too unwell to attend court.
A four-week trial was due to get underway today at the High Court in Auckland.
The court will get an update on the condition of the defendant on Wednesday before deciding how the trial may proceed.
Alan Hall spent 19 years in jail after being convicted of the murder of Arthur Easton in 1985. He was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2022 and then awarded nearly $5 million in compensation, then the highest ever award in New Zealand history.
In 2024, police charged three men with perverting the course of justice.
One of those men died in 2024.
That same year, police also reopened the murder investigation into Easton’s death and announced a $100,000 reward for information that could help identify the person responsible
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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. 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.
Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
