Alan Hall's brothers fronted the media after Alan's murder conviction was quashed in the Supreme Court in Wellington.
Video / Mark Mitchell
Alan Hall will finally walk away a free man today after his conviction for murder, a crime he has always maintained he never committed, was quashed by the highest court in New Zealand.
Chief justice Helen Winkelmann has delivered the history-making decision in the Supreme Court in Wellington this afternoon.
Justice Winkelmann said the Court was satisfied a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred in Hall's case.
"We can confirm the lamentable fact that significant parts of the criminal justice system have failed Mr Hall with serious adverse consequences for him.
Justice Winkelmann said the justice system had failed Hall, and so too it had failed the Easton family.
Hall, imprisoned for 19 years for the murder, will now consider seeking compensation for his ordeal. His family gave a standing ovation when the decision was delivered at 4pm.
Hall was 23 when he was accused of murdering Arthur Easton during a violent home invasion in October 1985.
Alan Hall, now 60, leaves the Supreme Court after his 1986 conviction for murder was finally quashed. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Outside the court the relief of the Hall family was evident, with brother Geoff Hall telling media through tears in his eyes that it had been an emotional time.
"We've won today. Our story is told and we are very proud of Alan."
Eldest brother Robert Hall said Alan dedicated the victory to their late mum, Shirley.
"[We] had a meeting last night and [Alan stood up and] said it's all about mum."
When asked about compensation Robert Hall said: "We're going to sit back and reflect. Take some time to make a good plan for his [Alan's] future."
In the three decades Hall has spent trying to clear his name, with evidence known about by the Crown since 1993, the family lost their mother and their home fighting for justice.
Shirley Hall died in 2012, but not before selling the family home in Papakura to help pay for her son to overturn the conviction.
Last week Geoff Hall told Open Justice it was time to reclaim what was taken from them.
Greg, Geoff and Robert Hall were emotional but relieved at their brother Alan's quashed conviction. They said the victory was for their mum Shirley who didn't live to see it. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He said the family would be sitting down with their legal team to form an application for compensation to the Minister of Justice.
He was unsure of the process but said one thing was certain: "I'm going to make it a priority, one way or another that the replacement of our family home happens".
However, he said ultimately it would be his brother's decision.
"It's not for anybody else at the end of the day, what they decide is Alan's decision," he said.
Private investigator Tim McKinnel, who has worked closely with the family to get Hall's conviction quashed, said last week the question of compensation would be on the table.
"One step at a time, but Alan and his family know that we will do whatever they want us to do ... but we're not getting ahead of ourselves," McKinnel said.
Mother Shirley Hall, who passed away in 2012, sold the family home to fund legal action to clear her son's name. Photo / Supplied
It follows several high-profile cases of quashed convictions that resulted in Government payouts.
Teina Pora received $3.5 million for the 21 years he spent in prison for twice being wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in 1992.
His conviction was quashed by the Privy Council in 2015 and the Government agreed to pay just over $2.5 million compensation after considering reports from retired High Court Judge Rodney Hansen QC.
Later, former Justice Minister Andrew Little added an inflation adjustment of $988,000 and $45,000 in legal costs for the judicial review of an earlier decision not to provide the inflation adjustment.
"Teina Pora was the victim of one of New Zealand's worst miscarriages of justice," Little said at the time.
"He was robbed of more than two decades of his life, languishing in prison for crimes he did not commit. These were years when Mr Pora could have been working to build his future and his family."
Teina Pora's convictions for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett were quashed by the Privy Council in 2015 and was given $3.5 million compensation. Photo / Michael Craig
Two other cases that led to payouts related to wrongful convictions include David Bain and Arthur Allan Thomas.
In Thomas' case he was twice convicted for the infamous 1970 murders of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe, once in 1971 and again in 1973.
In December 1979 Thomas received a royal pardon and was released after nine years in prison.
He received almost $1 million in compensation after it was determined by a Royal Commission of Inquiry that evidence against him had been planted by detectives.
David Bain was convicted of murdering his parents and three siblings in June 1994, serving 13 years in prison before the Privy Council quashed his convictions and he was acquitted in a retrial in 2009.
Bain was denied compensation for his time behind bars but the Government agreed to make an ex-gratia payment in the interests of bringing closure to the long-running claim.
A full and final payment of $925,000 was accepted by Bain's legal team.
In 2016, then Justice Minister Amy Adams stressed the payment was not compensation, and had been offered solely to avoid further litigation and costs to the Crown.
