Court tosses out March 15 terrorist's attempt to get conviction overturned | Stuff.co.nz

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[00:00:00]The court of appeal has slammed March 15th terrorist Brenton Tarrant's attempt to overturn his convictions, calling his case utterly devoid of merit. The gunman who carried out New Zealand's worst terror attack has failed in his last-ditch bid to challenge his convictions. Three judges ruled Brenton Tarrant's guilty pleas were entirely voluntary, rejecting claims he was pressured by torturous prison conditions. Senior reporter Juliet Speedy has the story.

[00:00:29]Today, 7 on from one of the darkest days in our history, members of the Muslim community arrive at Al Noor mosque for prayers. For many survivors and families, today's appeal court decision closes yet another painful chapter. I was just relieved. Relieved that the the legal system had um responded in a way that I thought they would.

[00:00:52]>> The court of appeal ruled that the Australian man who murdered 51 people and tried to murder 40 more cannot overturn his guilty pleas, going as far as to call his bid utterly devoid of merit. The terrorist gave evidence in his appeal, which was filed more than 500 working days out of time, claiming he only pleaded guilty because of his torturous prison conditions and his dire mental state.

[00:01:15]>> a question? Yes.

[00:01:18]Um many times.

[00:01:21]Quite a few times, sure. But in a strongly worded judgment, the court has rejected those claims completely. The court concludes that Mr. Tarrant's proposed appeal is utterly devoid of merit. This court does not accept Mr. Tarrant's evidence about his mental state. He was not suffering from a mental impairment or any other form of mental incapacity, which rendered him unable to voluntarily enter guilty pleas. He was not coerced or pressured in any way to plead guilty. Rosemary Omar lost her 24-year-old son Tariq at the hands of the terrorist on March 15th. It was a waste of time, energy, money, and I just thought it was just him trying to have another moment in the media again. Just to get his name out there, just to feel sort of important when he's really just a little man that has nothing of value. The appeal court judges said the gunman's guilty pleas were voluntary and laid out why his attempted appeal was baseless. There are inconsistencies in Mr. Tarrant's own evidence about the severity of his mental state. His evidence is also at complete odds with the detailed observations of prison authorities and the assessments of most mental health professionals. They are also at odds with the evidence of his trial counsel.

[00:02:35]And today's ruling made it clear that society's interests, especially the victims, outweigh any attempt to reopen the case. The wider interests of society, and particularly the victims of Mr. Tarrant's offending, strongly favored declining Mr. Tarrant's application. The judgment revealed that 2 weeks after the hearing, Tarrant had filed to abandon the appeal and fired his lawyer, but the court refused, saying the public interest demanded a final ruling. But it did accept his abandonment of any sentence appeal, due to be held later this year. You know, while you'll never have a closure, you never get a um a break from it all. So, like, I mean, every day, you know, we remember Tariq, but the thing is, you know, you don't want to remember how he died. You want to remember how he lived, and um you know, this just regurgitates it. It's just Yeah, it just gives you a sick feeling. Today's decision means the terrorist's guilty pleas stand exactly as they were entered, voluntary, deliberate, and final. So, justice for one of New Zealand's darkest days stands, and it stands with the victims, families, and survivors. The terrorist now carries on with his unprecedented sentence in this country of life without the possibility of parole.