New wrongful conviction body intervenes in case of jailed 15-year-old

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

The appeal of Mr G will be heard in the High Court next year.

A man sent to an adult prison when he was only 15, is the first case a new wrongful conviction body has asked the courts to reconsider.

“Mr G”, who arrived in New Zealand as a refugee when he was seven, was convicted of offences including assault and driving with excess blood alcohol, and sentenced to 11 months in prison in 2001.

Documents filed in the District Court at the time indicated he was 17.

However, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has investigated his case and obtained evidence from government agencies showing Mr G, who left school unable to read or write English, was only 15 at the time.

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Only people over 16 could be sent to an adult prison for the charges Mr G faced.

Commissioners have referred his case back to the High Court for an appeal, where a lawyer for Mr G will seek to have the convictions quashed.

The CCRC is an independent body established to investigate potential miscarriages of justice, replacing the widely criticised Royal prerogative of mercy system, administered by the Ministry of Justice.

It was swamped with applications when its doors opened in July 2020, and has received 340 applications to review convictions and sentences since then, far more than predicted.

More than 100 applications have been declined because they lacked merit or the person hadn’t exhausted other appeal options. Another 200 are currently being assessed, and 19 are being investigated in detail.

However, Mr G’s case is the first case the CCRC has referred back to the courts for an appeal, on the basis it is in the interests of justice for the conviction to be reconsidered.

CCRC chief commissioner Colin Carruthers, KC, said the referral was “a watershed moment for the commission”.

“It’s very satisfying to have the first one over the line.”

Carruthers described Mr G’s case as “disquieting”.

The information about Mr G’s real age was available and CCRC investigators had managed to find it, and Carruthers felt there should have been a more thorough process at the time, to ensure the court wasn’t sentencing someone under-age.

The months Mr G spent in prison had an extremely negative impact on his life, Carruthers said.

“I think it’s one of those mistakes that the system does unfortunately make.”

And he is adamant the case wouldn’t have been uncovered without the CCRC, because no other body had the power to obtain the necessary documents and evidence.

Carruthers stressed miscarriages of justice weren’t just about high-profile murders, but often involved more minor offences.

However, the consequences for anyone wrongfully convicted were similar: a loss of liberty; separation from family and friends; often brutality in jail; and difficulty reintegrating into society on release.

Carruthers expected more cases investigated by the CCRC to be referred back to appeal courts next year.

Mr G has not been named by the CCRC, due to his intention to seek name suppression.

His appeal is likely to be heard next year.