Source: Radio New Zealand
Al Noor Mosque where 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack in 2019. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The white supremacist terrorist who massacred 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques will remain in prison for the rest of his life after the Court of Appeal dismissed his attempt to overturn his convictions and sentence.
Survivors and families of the victims were relieved the court declined Brenton Tarrant’s appeals, saying the decision spares them from reliving the trauma again.
During a week-long Court of Appeal hearing in February, the terrorist claimed he was “forced” to plead guilty to 92 charges following the March 2019 terror attack because he was irrational as a result of his prison conditions.
He wanted his convictions set aside and to stand trial instead.
A week after February’s hearing, the 35-year-old Australian then sought to abandon his appeal and fired his lawyer the following week.
The terrorist had to seek the court’s leave – or permission – to appeal his convictions and sentence out of time because his application was filed 505 days late.
In a unanimous decision released on Thursday, the court’s justices declined the terrorist’s application for leave and his application to abandon the appeal against his convictions.
The court granted his application to abandon the appeal against his sentence, which would have been heard at a later date.
“Mr Tarrant has failed by a considerable margin to adequately explain the extraordinarily long delay in filing his notice of appeal,” the court said.
“The facts concerning Mr Tarrant’s offending are beyond dispute. He has not identified any arguable defence, or indeed any defence known to the law. We have also rejected his claim that his guilty pleas were the product of him having an irrational state of mind induced by his prison conditions.
“Mr Tarrant’s proposed appeal is utterly devoid of merit.”
In a statement, lawyers acting for the survivors and families of victims said they were pleased by the court’s decision.
RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
“This is a huge relief that the law has now done its job and that the families, and frankly all of us, will be spared the trauma of reliving the 15th of March all over again in a trial,” they said.
“It is a huge relief that the difficult and often unsupported journey families are on will not now be added to by the great burden of a new trial. It would have been unimaginably traumatic.
“This has not been easy. As families try to move on … and rebuild their lives seven years on, this appeal has been yet another challenge. But it is another challenge they have overcome and we acknowledge their resilience.”
Crown lawyers, including deputy solicitor-general Madeleine Laracy, met with some victims ahead of February’s hearing.
“The Crown considers it was extremely important for the victims’ sense of justice, and for wider public confidence in the appeal process, that the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment which addressed the merits of the appellant’s claims despite his attempt to abandon the appeal shortly after the five-day hearing. The judgment is thorough, and speaks for itself,” Laracy said.
Tarrant left 51 people dead or dying in little over 15 minutes after taking an arsenal of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and incendiary devices to Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on 15 March and opening fire as worshippers marked Jumu’ah – the most significant prayer of the Muslim week.
The terrorist initially pleaded not guilty in June 2019 to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder, and one of committing terrorism.
His former lawyers told the Court of Appeal in February he then wavered in late July 2019 and prepared to plead guilty before again changing his mind days later.
In March 2020, he formally pleaded guilty to all charges and was jailed for life without the possibility of parole in August 2020.
The terrorist had 20 working days to file an appeal against his convictions or sentence but the application came more than a year later in November 2022.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
