The Crown says if hate preacher Abu Hamza can get a fair trial then so can serial rapist Malcolm Rewa.
Malcolm Rewa in the dock at the High Court in Auckland in December 2017. Photo: RNZ / Edward Gay
Rewa's case was back at the High Court in Auckland today where his lawyer argued that extensive media coverage of his client and his case has contaminated the jury pool.
Lawyer Paul Chambers argued Rewa's third trial for the murder of Susan Burdett should be stopped from going ahead.
However, the Crown has pointed to overseas examples and cases closer to home where juries have been able to reach verdicts, despite wide-spread media publicity.
Crown prosecutor Gareth Kayes pointed to the Abu Hamza Al-Masri case - the radical one-eyed Egyptian cleric who gave fiery sermons in London and was jailed for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred.
Abu Hamza Al-Masri addresses followers during prayer in north London in 2004. Photo: AFP
He also pointed to John Barlow who faced three trials for the murders of Wellington businessmen Gene and Eugene Thomas.
Mr Kayes said the courts had found juries could ignore publicity and decide the case only on the evidence presented in the court room.
This will be Rewa's third trial for the murder of Ms Burdett who was found raped and bludgeoned to death in her South Auckland home in 1992.
Rewa is currently serving preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of 22 years for rape and other offending against 25 women. Two juries were unable to reach verdicts on whether Rewa also murdered Ms Burdett.
Today much was also made of a recent TVNZ dramatisation of Teina Pora's life that included an actor playing Malcolm Rewa. Mr Kayes said the programme was obviously not a documentary and the makers had used artistic licence.
He had been told TVNZ intended on making the programme unavailable online six months before the trial, he said.
However, Rewa's lawyer Paul Chambers said his client could not get a fair trial. Mr Chambers described the media coverage as "cancerous".
Mr Chambers said there was widespread coverage of the Privy Council's finding that quashed Teina Pora's convictions, Mr Pora's bid for compensation and a review of the police's handling of their investigation of Rewa.
Jurors will have a conscious or subconscious bias against his client, he said.
He said it had gone beyond the point where a judge's direction to jurors to ignore their past knowledge of the case would ensure Rewa gets a fair trial.
Mr Chambers said the TVNZ programme had reached an audience of 240,000 and more had watched it online.
Justice Venning has reserved his decision but said he hoped to have it released by the end of next month.
Depending on the outcome, Rewa is due to stand trial for murder in February next year.
