As I wrap up my blogs on Alan Hall, I cannot help but think of Alan’s family, in particular his mother who sadly passed away before her much love son was released from prison.
Having read all evidence relating to Alan, but also Tenia Pora, Arthor Thomas and many more it saddens me how we as a country are seemingly desensitised from the real world.
There are many wrongly convicted people alive in our country, also many passed away, but how often do we as a nation stand up and say enough is enough, even when clear evidence is put in front of us on television or on social media.
In Alan’s case we have Detective Senior Sergeant Kelvin McMinn who has admitted the police purposely changed a written statement after being told to do so by the Crown prosecutor, and in doing so committing the very serious crime of perjury, but here we are years later, and no one has been charged.
I’m not interested in why it was changed, I’m interested in accountability, and the people responsible, however many there were, being put in front of the courts and held accountable.
The crime has been committed, the evidence is there and even the perpetrator has admitted to doing it but all we see is silence.
I ask you all, if the wrongly convicted person was your own son, daughter, brother or sister, would you simply shrug your shoulders and say, “what can I do”? I don’t think so.
This terrible bullying, corrupt practise has been going on not only for years, but decades, even longer but still as a country we remain silent, shrug our shoulders, and accept it with an “as long as it doesn’t affect me” attitude and it needs to change.
I want you to think for one minute, if people like Mike Wesley Smith, Tim McKinnel and even Nick Chisnell had shrugged their shoulders Alan Hall would still be in prison with no voice simply because he was an easy target for a system that is so corrupt, and tunnel visioned its not funny.
There are two reports due on the Alan Hall case, one from the police, and also one from the IPCA, which to be honest gives me no confidence at all, as I have blogged many time my concerns, very real concerns, around police investigating police and I am sorry but no one will ever tell me the IPCA, supposed police watch dog is not full of ex police officers because they are.
I will not let Alan Hall’s investigation become one more statistic of the old boy’s club, which I can assure you, if allowed that is exactly what will happen.
Jackie Foster, CEO, Social Justice Aotearoa
Hi Jackie. I totally agree with your comment about not having any confidence in the reports coming from the IPCA and from the police.
The IPCA is a law unto itself because it is made up of retired senior cops who operate on the mantra that the police can do no wrong. They generally sneer at and pooh-pooh most people who have legitimate complaints against the cops. Even if fault or wrongdoing is found, which is rare, the cops take no prosecuting action. All they say is that they accept the report from the IPCA and have counselled whoever the cop/s is/are to improve their practices. Talk about a corrupt system.
I rang around a few lawyers and finally found one that was happy to talk to me. I asked him what the basis is for prosecuting someone for a crime, or rather not prosecuting someone. He said that under what is called the Solicitor-General’s Guidelines, there are two tests – firstly, the test called “evidential sufficiency”, i.e., is there sufficient evidence to charge the person. Secondly, whether it is in the public interest to bring a prosecution.
I am not a lawyer but I don’t think you have to be one to know that in Mr Hall’s case, there is evidential sufficiency in the form of an admission from McMinn that the cops did intentionally change Mr Turner’s statement and it is in the public interest to prosecute.
But, given the amount of time that has passed since the Supreme Court overturned Mr Hall’s conviction with no action being taken against the corrupt cops who deliberately changed Mr Turner’s statement, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the report from the police says no prosecution will be commenced because of lack of evidential sufficiency and it is not in the public interest to prosecute. It will be worded in such a way that exonerates the cops. I would not be surprised if the report from the IPCA is similarly worded…….and so the corruption of the system, including the cops, remains in tact until the next great injustice is exposed.
I think there is a fear that if people acknowledge wrongful convictions and/or dodgy/incompetent cops are real, then it might happen to them. For example, many jurors, unfortunately, believe that if someone is in court, it is because they did something wrong…because the alternative is to believe that you could be arrested (and possibly even imprisoned) for something that did not happen. And who wants to believe that could happen? Because then no one could sleep at night…
@Shazz. Yes, you are right. In addition to jurors, there are many people who believe that if the cops bring a charge against a person, then the person is guilty of the charge when, as we know, that is not the case. Mr Hall’s case is a case in point. And this is partly why the cops get away with this sort of corruption because they know the system will support their corruption.
Those people who believe that everyone who is charged with a crime must be guilty have never been in the same situation. They have never been accused of something they did not do.
This is exactly the situation I am in, I have been set up by dirty cops covering a massive drug operation in Waipori Falls. The corruption extends to the drug dealers/growers running our finances in a body corporate situation. Sabotage of the infrastructure we collectively pay for by the chairperson who uses the corrupt cops to set up innocent people. What is going on at Waipori Falls is disturbing and beyond disgusting, because of organised criminals and dirty police. This country revolts me beyond belief. I notice this site doesn’t like posting my posts about this subject. The Dunedin police are paid criminals, cartels are working here and it is European people hiding in plain sight.
I have to agree here. We don’t know what is exactly behind the Waipori Falls matter but the police are in collusion with the criminal gang in the village and have let them take over the running of the body corporate. False charges are put on anyone trying to do the right thing who is getting too noisy. So far it has only been done to creative women who are strong in beliefs and ideals, especially in regard to environment. The police gather the criminal gang to testify in court with a bunch of staged nonsense, with absolutely no evidence. The police and “the witnesses” lie in court. It is both a case of perjury and perverting the course of justice in the courts. The victim is the defendant who is both terrified, vulnerable and powerless. The victim (defendant) has likely been exposed to horrendous levels of serious crime at Waipori Falls already, and has PTSD. The PTSD will definitely be there after having been exposed to the NZ police working in collusion with a criminal gang. The police will make sure that your family are harassed as well as you are being traumatized and humiliated with the false charges. The hearings and the bail conditions will be prolonged and highly traumatic.
I have to agree here. We don’t know what is exactly behind the Waipori Falls matter but the police are in collusion with the criminal gang in the village and have let them take over the running of the body corporate. False charges are put on anyone trying to do the right thing who is getting too noisy. So far it has only been done to creative women who are strong in beliefs and ideals, especially in regard to environment. The police gather the criminal gang to testify in court with a bunch of staged nonsense, with absolutely no evidence. The police and “the witnesses” lie in court. It is both a case of perjury and perverting the course of justice in the courts. The victim is the defendant who is both terrified, vulnerable and powerless. The victim (defendant) has likely been exposed to horrendous levels of serious crime at Waipori Falls already, and has PTSD. The PTSD will definitely be there after having been exposed to the NZ police working in collusion with a criminal gang. The police will make sure that your family are harassed as well while you are being traumatized and humiliated with the false charges. The hearings and the bail conditions will be prolonged and highly traumatic.
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