November 21, 2013
Mika case draws no sympathy
Labour’s Maori affairs spokesperson Shane Jones says a Christchurch lawyer may be running the wrong case in trying to get Maori identity considered as a factor in sentencing.
Lawyer Mike Rapley has told the Court of Appeal his client Fabian Jessie Mika should get a discounted sentence because as a Maori he came from an environment of social deprivation and inequality.
Mika was sentenced in September to six years and nine months in jail for causing the death of a teenage boy during a car chase in Canterbury.
Mr Jones says whatever the merits of the argument in a general sense, they are overshadowed by the specifics.
"The young fellow in question Mika, is a mobster – I think he’s got Mongrel Mob tattooed across his face. So if you were going to find someone that would enable the public to come on board and support some recognition of the deprivation facing Maori, you wouldn’t choose a mobster. These people have no remorse, and they are arguably some of the most menacing New Zealanders. I don’t think he’s going to make much progress in this particular case," he says.
Mr Jones says the family of Mika’s victim is also Maori, and their sentence can’t be reduced.
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