Prison term for killing of relative

Emotions ran high when 32-year-old Kaitaia man Gene Autrey Wright was sentenced in the High Court at Whangarei last week to a prison term of four years and three months for the manslaughter of his uncle, Sonny Werahiko Taylor, at Oturu in July 2011.

There was more sorrow than anger, however, and in heartfelt display of goodwill the victim's family expressed willingness to take care of Wright's wife and children until he is released.

Wright was convicted of manslaughter by a High Court jury in February, the court hearing that the beatings Mr Taylor received resulted from a dispute over buildings on multiply-owned Maori land at the end of Oturu Block Road. The day after Mr Taylor took a chainsaw to try to cut the legs off a pataka that Wright's grandfather, John Wright, had built near his home, Wright went to the property to sort the matter out and ended up assaulting the deceased.

In court, Mr Taylor's family said they felt for Wright, who apologised to them from the dock and hoped for some sort of a healing process between their whanau.

Wright said his lawyer had advised him to defend the charge based on the pathology report, but he fully accepted the jury's verdict.

Outside court Mr Taylor's younger brother, Werahiko Ivan Taylor, made an impassioned plea for the culture of violence around families to stop.

"Violence doesn't solve issues, it makes them. People's attitude towards one another needs to change," he said, adding that his family were relieved that the case was over but felt for Wright, his wife and six children. His family had opened their doors to them if they wished to keep in touch.

His siblings, Sam and Cheryl Taylor, read their victim statements in court, speaking of how much they loved and missed their brother.

Crown prosecutor Bernadette O'Connor said aggravating features of Wright's offending included the extent of the violence, his unlawful entry into a house, premeditation and Mr Taylor's physical vulnerability, while counsel Doug Blaikie said his client had shown remorse, was a young man with a difficult past but was a strong family man, and had minimal previous convictions.

Judge Sarah Katz said no penalty could reflect the loss of a life or bring Mr Taylor back. A long-standing land dispute did not justify Wright's actions. It was unacceptable for people to take the law into their own hands.

Despite previous convictions for drug and dishonesty offending, Wright had matured as a responsible father and a husband in the last five years, she added. She set a starting point of five years but settled at an end sentence of four years and three months.