Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
A watchdog looking into miscarriages of justice has referred Lon Reti's 1998 murder conviction to the Court of Appeal.
Reti was jailed for murdering Leslie Allan Edmonds in Christchurch in October 1997.
It is the fifth referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission Te Kahui Tatari Ture since it was set up in 2020.
Reti appealed his conviction in 1999, but his original appeal was dismissed 'on the papers' under the ex-parte regime that operated between 1991 and 2001. He exercised his right to a rehearing in 2003, but this was also unsuccessful.
The CCRC began investigating Reti's conviction in June 2022.
"The investigation examined the potential impact of Mr Reti's mental health and personal history on the safety of his conviction. During the investigation Te Kāhui obtained expert evidence exploring the impact Mr Reti's mental health and personal history may have had on the offending and the proceedings. Expert evidence was not before the jury or the Court of Appeal.
"This highlighted serious concerns about whether the partial defence of provocation was fully and fairly considered during Mr Reti's trial. Provocation was raised at Mr Reti's trial in 1998, and while applied at the time, it has since been repealed."
The CCRC concluded that this new information was relevant to the partial defence of provocation.
"On that basis, it has decided it is in the interests of justice to refer Mr Reti's conviction back to the Court of Appeal."
Chief Commissioner Denis Clifford said for Reti, and for most applicants, an application to CCRC came as a result of "years of perseverance to have their case looked at again".
"For many, our involvement is the first time their case has been looked at with fresh eyes."
"Our unique role in the criminal justice system is to independently investigate and review possible miscarriages of justice. We don't decide guilt or innocence, that's the role of the courts. We have a duty to act, when we uncover information that could have made a real difference to the outcome. Our power of investigation and referral is an important safeguard in the justice system."
Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz
The other cases referred include a man who had been charged for a set of offences he did not commit and a two-year investigation by the CCRC which uncovered "serious concerns" about the omission of "crucial information" when deciding to charge the applicant along with identification evidence used to convict them.
The other two cases were referring the convictions of Mikaere Oketopa (formerly Michael October) for rape and murder to the Court of Appeal, and a case involving a young man who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment which he served at an adult prison at the age of 15 "contrary to sentencing laws at the time".
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