The judge appointed to assess David Bain's compensation claim asked for two books by supporter Joe Karam to be included in his background information on the case.
Justice Ian Binnie's reading material will not extend to volumes written by anti-Bain campaigners, according to papers released by the Ministry of Justice this week.
One of the books requested by Binnie was the subject of a failed $350,000 defamation case by two policemen against Karam, the former All Black who is Bain's biggest supporter.
Claims in the book that police planted evidence such as a spectacle lens formed part of the defence argument during Bain's 2009 retrial.
Bain was convicted in 1995 of shooting five members of his family in Dunedin in 1994. In 2007, the Privy Council quashed his convictions on the grounds of a substantial miscarriage of justice and ordered a retrial, which took place in Christchurch in 2009, where a jury found him not guilty.
The case has been the subject of intense public interest and speculation, with groups set up to advocate both for and against Bain, and his father Robin, who the defence argued was the killer.
In late 2010, Bain filed a claim for compensation for the 13 years he spent in prison, which commentators say could entitle him to as much as $2million. Binnie, a retired Canadian Supreme Court judge, was appointed by the Minister of Justice to assess the application last year.
Documents released under the Official Information Act show material provided to Binnie includes a joint report by the Police Complaints Authority and Police Commissioner from 1997, an application to the governor-general for exercise of the Royal perogative of mercy by Bain in 1998, the Ministry of Justice and Sir Thomas Thorp reports on that application, court records and decisions, submissions on the compensation claim, and the claim itself.
The Ministry of Justice said Binnie also requested two books by Karam, David and Goliath: the Bain family murders and Bain and Beyond. The books were provided by the ministry.
Several other books have been written on the Bain case, including The Mask of Sanity: The Bain Murders by James McNeish and In the Grip of Evil: The Bain Murders by Judith Wolfe and Trevor Reeves. There are also numerous documentaries about the murders. These were not requested.
We find this a bit worrying. Why would Justice Binnie want to read two books which present the Bain case in a very slanted and partisan way, but not read a contradictory opinion such as McNeish's lengthy tome? After all, it's not as though Joe Karam wrote from a position of neutrality is it; he's invested heavily in David Bain's innocence. Surely, natural justice would require Justice Binnie to research both sides of the story.
And if the situation is as Stuff reports, have David Bain's chances of a compensation payout just been given a significant boost?
4 comments:
"After all, it's not as though Joe Karam wrote from a position of neutrality is it; he's invested heavily in David Bain's innocence."
Possibly the judge has exactly the same concern. The breathless works by Karam lacked the objectivity of a professional journalist and were probably PR pieces to colour the perceptions of future jurors.
The other books were objective analysis of the evidence rather than the conspiracy theory ramblings of Karam's. The judge doesn't need to read them , he already has the evidence.
This is gutter dog whistle journalism.
I'm not so sure Sir Loin.
As soon as I heard there'd be a Canadian judge, I imagined some crim-sympathatic do-gooder who enjoys giving downtrodden murderers a second chance.
Justice Binnie has probably made up his mind that David as we all know is guilty on the balance of probabilities, he just want to read Karams books to see where it all went crazy.
I think it is scandalous that the Judge requested Karam's books.
The Mask of Sanity by James McNeish gave an in depth analysis of the family and the first trial. McNeish is a very highly respected journalist.I strongly urge that the public insist he has a balanced view.
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