Today it announced the case had been referred back to the Court of Appeal.
“The investigation examined the potential impact of Mr Reti’s mental health and personal history on the safety of his conviction,“ said a CCRC spokesperson.
“During the investigation, Te Kāhui obtained expert evidence exploring the impact Mr Reti’s mental health and personal history may have had on the offending and the proceedings.
“Expert evidence was not before the jury or the Court of Appeal. This highlighted serious concerns about whether the partial defence of provocation was fully and fairly considered during Mr Reti’s trial.”
While provocation was raised at Reti’s trial in 1998, it has since been repealed.
The spokesperson said the CCRC concluded that this new information was relevant to the partial defence of provocation.
“On that basis, it has decided it is in the interests of justice to refer Mr Reti’s conviction back to the Court of Appeal,” they said.
This is the fifth referral the CCRC has made to an appellate court.
Chief Commissioner Denis Clifford said for Reti and others referred, applications to the CCRC came “as a result of years of perseverance to have their case looked at again”.
“For many, our involvement is the first time their case has been looked at with fresh eyes,” he said.
“Our unique role in the criminal justice system is to independently investigate and review possible miscarriages of justice.
“We don’t decide guilt or innocence, that’s the role of the courts. We have a duty to act when we uncover information that could have made a real difference to the outcome.
“Our power of investigation and referral is an important safeguard in the justice system.”
Since the commission was launched in July 2000, more than 500 applications have been made from people claiming they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced.
In 2023, the CCRC referred another Christchurch case back to the courts.
Mikaere Oketopa, formerly Michael October, was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 1995 for the rape and murder of 22-year-old Anne-Maree Ellens in the grounds of Christchurch East Primary School.
While Ellens was heavily intoxicated, Oketopa, alongside two co-defendants, allegedly took her into the school, raped her, and savagely beat her to death.
Her semi-naked body was found on the school steps the next morning.
The CCRC ruled that new evidence suggested Oketopa’s confessions to police were likely to be false and questioned the integrity of the police investigation.
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 19 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
