March 31, 2013
Māori Party wants mercy in Pora case
Māori Party Co-leader Pita Sharples says the Teina Pora case shows why systemic racism in the justice system is so dangerous.
Pora has spent 20 years in jail after being found guilty by two juries of the murder of Auckland woman Susan Burdett in her Papatoetoe home.
In 1998 serial rapist Malcolm Rewa was found guilty on DNA evidence of raping her, but a jury could not agree on a murder charge.
Dr Sharples and Tariana Turia last week wrote to Justice Minister Judith Collins asking for the case to be referred to the governor general for review, or to hold a retrial.
Dr Sharples says evidence is mounting of a miscarriage of justice, starting with the police decision to interrogate the then-17 year old for five days without a lawyer.
He says while Pora may have gone to the police because he was angling for reward money, he did not know basic facts such as where Ms Burdett’s house was located.
Dr Sharples says the United Nations Committee on Eliminating Racial Discrimination has told New Zealand it needs to do more to prevent racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and the Pora case is an example of such institutional racism.
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