Moko Case Made Worse by Alleged Official Lies

12th May 2016

Both the Solicitor General and her underling should realize this issue is not going to go away. We suggest they both front up now” McVicar

The “Stuff” website this morning reports the Crown Solicitor in charge of prosecuting the killers of little Moko Rangitoheriri telling “a family member” that the reason a prosecution for murder could not proceed was because Moko died some time after his injuries were inflicted.

“If what Rotorua Crown Solicitor Amanda Gordon told the family is accurately reported, then she has told them an outrageous lie” said Garth McVicar, founder of the Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“Our legal advisors have checked and confirmed that section 162 of the Crimes Act remains in force. That section says that provided a person dies within a year and day after the injuries which caused their death were inflicted, then the killer(s) may be prosecuted for either murder or manslaughter” said McVicar

“If she has been reported correctly, why is Ms Gordon lying to the family about the decision to downgrade the charges from murder to manslaughter? Is it because the family are just ordinary people who don’t know the law, and she thinks they will accept this nonsense explanation?”

“If so, that makes things a whole lot worse. Where vulnerable people rely on lawyers to accurately advise them, surely the duty is all the greater to make that advice accurate?” McVicar said

“Ms Gordon has so far loftily refused to even discuss the matter, much less explain to well informed journalists why she made such a seemingly inexplicable decision. All of the experts consulted by us have said ‘there must be more to it than what has been reported” McVicar said.

“If there is ‘something more’ which makes the inexplicable explainable, then let’s hear it, either from the Crown Solicitor herself, or the Solicitor General who had to approve this sleazy deal” McVicar said.

“Without more information, we are all left thinking the worst – and it doesn’t get much worse than lying to the bereaved family of a murdered little boy, if that is indeed what happened” said McVicar.

“We call upon the Solicitor General Una Jagose to explain why her colleague Amanda Gordon made the decision she did. And Ms Gordon should come out and either deny the Stuff report of 12 May, or if it is accurate, explain why she lied to the family. Both the Solicitor General and her underling should realize this issue is not going to go away. We suggest they both front up now”.

ENDS

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