Government seeking changes at wrongful conviction body
Wednesday, 10 July 2024
The body set up to investigate potential wrongful convictions looks set for a shake-up under the new justice minister.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) was established in 2020 to independently review possible miscarriages of justice.
Since then, it has sent three cases back to the courts, with two of them already overturned, and the convictions quashed.
The third case, Mikaere Oketopa’s appeal against his controversial conviction for murdering Anne-Maree Ellens in Christchurch in 1994, is due to be heard next year.
However, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith looks set to put a new person in charge of the organisation, and possibly replace up to three other commissioners.
Rather than roll over the contracts of chief commissioner Colin Carruthers, KC, and commissioners Nigel Hampton, KC, Virginia Hope, and Tracey McIntosh, Goldsmith advertised the positions. Applications closed last Friday.
Three other commissioners, Paula Rose, Kingi Snelgar, and Tamasailau Suaalii-Sauni, still have a year left on their contracts.
National opposed the CCRC’s establishment. However, its coalition partner, New Zealand First, was one of the main drivers in its creation, along with Labour, and then-justice minister Andrew Little.
Carruthers helped set up the CCRC and has overseen its operation for the last four years.
He wishes to remain in his position, but it appears Goldsmith wants a change.
“A replacement chairperson is being sought,” Goldsmith said in a statement.
“Mr Carruthers was appointed to lead the establishment of the commission and he has completed that task with distinction.
“Decisions have not yet been made about which, if any, members of the commission will be replaced.”
Carruthers said he had indicated to Goldsmith he would like to stay on as chief commissioner, especially as the commission was now at the hard edge of making decisions about whether people had suffered wrongful convictions, in numerous cases.
“I’m keen to continue with it. It’s a job I’ve worked very hard at, to make the commission a success, right from the time we started.
“But it’s really in the hands of the minister.”
Concerns have already arisen that if Carruthers and Hampton are replaced, it leaves the CCRC with nobody who has previously had strong experience with miscarriage of justice cases, or front-line criminal defence work.
Hampton declined to comment, and Hope and McIntosh didn’t respond to approaches.
The possible changes come at the same time as the commission’s funding for the next year has been reduced by $337,000, to just under $5 million, as part of broad budget cuts among Crown entities.
Carruthers said this was due to the country’s overall financial position, but it wouldn’t affect their mainstream work of reviewing and investigating applications from people who believed they’d been wrongfully convicted.
“The reality of it is, we simply have to make the work work, within those budget constraints.”
The CCRC was swamped with requests when it opened its doors, and has received 461 applications.
As well as the three cases already referred back to the courts, another 28 are currently undergoing detailed investigations.