Black Hands bonus
Judge v journo on Bain case
An 11th bonus episode of Stuff’s Black Hands podcast series has been released in the wake of its runaway international success.
The investigation examines New Zealand’s most controversial murders; the shooting of five members of the Bain family in their Dunedin home in 1994.
Since its release in late July, Black Hands has had unprecedented interest, topping the podcast charts in New Zealand, Australia, Britain and Ireland with more than 2.7 million downloads.
The just-released sequel was recorded after a Radio New Zealand interview with senior Canadian judge, Justice Ian Binnie, and addresses some of the points he made to interviewer Kim Hill.
‘‘When we set out to make the series, we were really working in the dark in terms of the potential audience. So the international reaction has been heartening and shows what a powerful medium podcasting has become,’’ said series executive producer Kamala Hayman.
The bonus 11th episode of Black Hands answers some of Justice Binnie’s criticisms of journalist and narrator Martin van Beynen and considers some of the developments of the case not covered in the first 10 episodes.
This includes examining the advice Justice Binnie gave the Government regarding David Bain’s compensation claim and his 2012 report which judged Bain innocent on the balance of probabilities test.
Justice Binnie’s report was rejected as substandard by the Government and a subsequent report in 2016 by former Australian High Court judge Ian Callinan found Bain had not proved he was innocent on the probabilities test.
The new episode of Black Hands looks at how these highly-regarded experts reached such different conclusions.
Listeners can also find out what van Beynen thinks of being compared by Justice Binnie to Inspector Javert, a Les Miserables character described by Wikipedia as a ‘‘villainous, but rather tragic’’ figure known for a ‘‘misguided and selfdestructive’’ pursuit of justice.
Bain was found guilty of fatally shooting his family – his father Robin Bain, 58, his mother Margaret Bain, 50, and his siblings Arawa, 19, Laniet, 18 and Stephen, 14 – after a trial in 1995.
He maintained his innocence and former All Black Joe Karam took up the cause, which resulted in a new trial for David in 2009 at which he was acquitted. He then applied for compensation.