Wrongly jailed for 18 years, New Zealand man to get $3M in compensation

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - A New Zealander who spent 18 years in jail after being wrongly convicted in a murder case will receive $3 million in compensation from the government.

In a letter, the government issued an apology to Alan Hall, 60, and said he is “innocent,” Radio New Zealand reported on Friday. He was convicted in 1986.

Quashing his conviction over the murder of Arthur Easton during a home invasion nearly 40 years ago, New Zealand’s Supreme Court declared that it was “a serious miscarriage of justice.”

In October 1985, Easton, a 52-year-old man, was stabbed with a bayonet in his home in Papakura, a southern suburb of Auckland. Two of his sons were also injured in the attack.

Hall, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, has maintained that he did not stab Easton.

Justice was finally delivered after the New Zealand government appointed retired High Court Judge Rodney Hansen KC “to determine whether Alan Hall met the innocence test and should be compensated.”

Hansen found Hall innocent and recommended that compensation should be paid.

Hall was released on parole in 1994 and was sent back to jail in 2012. He was finally released last year and acquitted.