At a press conference at 2pm, Alan Hall’s brothers Geoff and Greg spoke to media alongside investigator Tim McKinnel and lawyer Nick Chisnall, KC.
“We don’t want this to happen again to anybody,” Geoff Hall said.
“It’s a great day for us, a great day for Alan. Alan says ‘hi’.
“Alan Hall can walk around an innocent man. [His mother] would be so proud. Her son has been vindicated.”
She would be spending “a lot of time with Alan, lots of hugs,” he said. “She would say, ‘I always believed in you, Alan’.”
The family members said the Crown’s apology was “pretty private, but it was heartfelt”.
Chisnall said: “We have to have some faith in police, conducting two investigations. We need to give them the opportunity to conduct a robust investigation.
“The Eastons are the victims. We owe them an answer, to catch the real killer. That will bring closure, and that’s something Alan has always said as well he wants to see for the Eastons.
“I think the way in which things have happened, starting with Crown Law, the way the Ministry of Justice has dealt with the compensation process, it always feels like it takes too long.
“I think there need to be questions asked about why it took so long. But I think a sense of justice has been restored.”
Geoff Hall said he thought it was “important for all New Zealanders to know what has happened in their judicial system. They need to go through very carefully to highlight the processes.”
When asked about how Alan reacted to the apology, Greg Hall said he took it “really well”.
“Next on the agenda is a trip for a birthday party.”
McKinnel said: “He has to rebuild his life, he has dreams. It’s going to take a bit of time to figure out what he wants to do.”
Easton and his two teenage sons were attacked in October 1985 by a bayonet-wielding home invader.
Easton was stabbed in his liver and died of blood loss after emergency services arrived on the scene.
The murder weapon and a woolly hat were all that was left at the scene by the murderer, who was described as a Māori man, tall and broad in stature.
Hall, who was later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, came to police attention two months later because he owned a bayonet and beanie similar to the ones found at the scene, and was walking in the area at the time of the attack.
Extensive police questioning of Hall ensued. McKinnel said the nature of the questioning and the vulnerability of a man singled out for being different was problematic.
The description of the attacker and key witness statements from a man in the area at the time were concealed by police, and a jury found Hall guilty of the murder in 1986.
Early last year the Crown accepted that key evidence leading to the identity of the true attacker was “materially” altered, leading to a miscarriage of justice.
In June 2022, Hall’s conviction was finally quashed in the family’s fifth attempt to clear his name.
At the time, Geoff Hall told Open Justice it was an important step in finding out exactly what happened.
“It’s not good enough, they need to open this wide up and find out what happened ... something caused this major failure in the police, court and judicial system and Alan is their victim.”
He said 60-year-old Hall and his family remained wounded by the loss of 19 years and the “what ifs”.
Hall was 23 when he was sentenced for the murder. His mother, Shirley, led the fight for her son’s appeal until 2002, when Geoff took over. She died in 2012.
The first unsuccessful appeal was declined by the Court of Appeal in 1987, after which Shirley continued to pour her life’s earnings into uncovering the truth.
She constantly advocated for her son, accessed documents that proved details had been omitted from evidence, approached key witnesses and fought for the truth through the media.
Geoff Hall told Open Justice she used to tell the family: “We have the truth and that’s the only way to live.”
Last year he said: “One of the last promises I made to her moments before she died I said to her ‘I will see this till the end no matter what’'. That was a driving force.”
The Hall family believe the attack on the Easton family was not a lone-wolf invasion, as was set out at trial. They believe another home invasion committed by three men on the same day had something to do with the death.
Geoff says it is painful knowing the courts had information that evidence was omitted at the last two appeals.
“They had this information there ... but they still kept Alan in jail.
“I knew this wasn’t going to be settled for years, our justice system wasn’t prepared to believe they made mistakes.”
Hall was released on parole in the 1990s after serving nine years but was recalled to prison in 2012 for a breach.
