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David Bain: Counter Spin
David Bain: Counter Spin
Latest News from the Justice for Robin Bain Group:
The JFRB Group have received explanation of the meaning of Extraordinary Circumstances as required for the application for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment, from the Ministry of Justice
In
order to be eligible for investigation for compensation the
Bain case has to meet one fo the following
criteria:
1. unequivocal innocence - cases in which it is demonstrable that the applicant was innocent beyond reasonable doubt, for example due to DNA evidence, strong alibi evidence.
2. no such offence - the applicant has been convicted of an offence that does not exist in law
3. serious wrongdoing by authorities - a judicial admission or official finding of serious misconduct in the investigation or prosecution of the case. Examples might include bringing or continuing proceedings in bad faith, failing to take proper steps to investigate the possibility of innocence, the planting of evidence, or suborning perjury.
4. (Note that should the case pass the above test it still has to be fully investigated and to pass the 'balance of probabilities' test.)
Clearly the Bain case does not meet either 1. or 2. above. That leaves only item 3. However, to date no serious wrongdoing has been proven. The police who investigated the case instigated their own independent investigation and this did not find any misconduct. In addition, the case has not been shown to be conducted in bad faith, nor anyone charged with perjury or planting of evidence. Any serious wrongdoing would have to be demonstrated from scratch by Bain's team since nothing exists to this point.
My own impression is that proving serious wrongdoing would most likely involve a separate investigation into whatever is purported to be seriously wrong. The factors in the first trial that enabled the Bain team to get a retrial with the Privy Council cannot be considered 'serious wrongdoing' and the Not Guilty verdict in the retrial would have served to fully vindicate these factors and mean that they no longer carry any weight.
A full copy of the letter from the Ministry can be found here: http://davidbain.counterspin.co.nz/news/explanation-of-extraordinary-circumstances
ENDS
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