Compo for man wrongfully jailed
A man awarded more than half a million dollars in compensation after being jailed for a crime he didn’t commit is ‘‘relieved’’ the ordeal is over.
Tyson Redman, then part of an Auckland high school gang, was convicted of wounding and injuring in a brawl at a 21st birthday party in 2007. He was 17 years old when the incident happened, and spent 21⁄2 years in jail.
He is now 30 and his conviction was only quashed in 2013 when eight people came forward stating he was not involved in the assault. Lawyer Jeremy Sutton, who acted for Redman in seeking compensation, told Stuff yesterday it had taken a ‘‘hell of a long time’’.
Redman had maintained his innocence from the outset, and while they were pleased with the compensation it would ‘‘never make up for almost half his life waiting to be cleared’’, Sutton said.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said on Tuesday that Redman would receive $550,000 for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
‘‘I recognise the Crown’s offer of compensation will never completely correct the wrong that Mr Redman has suffered, but I hope it will help him and his family recover from the distressing experience they have been through,’’ Little said in the statement.
Redman and five others were alleged to have been in a fight involving softball bats and bits of wood where six people were injured.
The Court of Appeal quashed his convictions in 2013 and Redman applied for compensation in 2014.
Sutton said they were ‘‘really pleased’’ to get an apology from Little in writing and an offer for Redman to be able to speak with the minister, which he did on Tuesday.
The payment announced on Tuesday is made up of an ex gratia payment of $551,017.16, representing $475,722.75 for non-pecuniary losses adjusted for inflation, and $75,294.41 for pecuniary losses, including his finalised legal costs.
However, Sutton was critical of the amount of time it had taken to get an apology and compensation.
Almost 11 years had lapsed between the trial and an apology.
‘‘A lot of people in that time would have given up if they didn’t have the right support and belief in them,’’ Sutton said.
‘‘This is a guy who was 17 at the time, really still a youth, surrounded by all these professional figures.
‘‘He told the police at the time he wasn’t involved, they didn’t believe him. He was really at the mercy of everybody else.’’
Sutton said the announcement would likely give others [appealing against wrongful conviction] hope, but that it showed how ‘‘complex’’ the system is.
‘‘It requires a great deal of courage to go through the whole process, it’s not a quick fix.’’
Teina Pora, who was declared innocent of the 1992 rape and murder of Susan Burdett after spending two decades in prison, received $3.5 million in compensation, adjusted for inflation.
Like Pora, who had a team of lawyers and journalists crusading for justice, Redman’s compensation showed if ‘‘you have people behind you, things can be turned around’’.