Middleton's day in the spotlight

By STAFF REPORTERS

Mark Middleton did not sleep much on Thursday night.

Expecting a jail term for his threats to kill Paul Dally, the man convicted of murdering his stepdaughter, Karla Cardno, 12 years ago, he left his books and clothes in his prison cell when he went to court to be sentenced.

Middleton was not the only one waiting nervously for the decision from Judge Michael Lance, QC, yesterday.

His fate had been a talking point throughout the country for two weeks. By 9 am yesterday, a line of more than 60 people waited at the door of courtroom seven in the Auckland District Court.

Security was tight. A dozen police, Chubb security guards and court security officers were in position.

When the doors opened, the supporters filed one by one past a metal detector and into the public gallery.

Middleton's family, including elder brothers George and Roy, took seats up front. Behind them were others whose lives had been bruised by violent crime, including Aaron Stenbeck, fiance of murdered Auckland journalist Kylie Jones.

Outside the court, more Middleton supporters assembled on the Albert St pavement, some waving placards, others venting their feelings out loud and winding up the crowd.

The number grew quickly from about 80 to perhaps 400.



The rally moved with a police escort down Wyndham St and along Queen St, calling for law reform. As the marchers made their way down to Queen Elizabeth Square, bystanders clapped and cheered.

In court, Middleton had asked supporters, through his lawyer, to hear the sentencing in silence. He entered the dock holding one finger to his lips to reinforce the message.

Just before 11 am, Judge Lance handed down a nine-month suspended jail term.

"Mr Middleton, threatening to kill is a serious crime. There's no room whatsoever for vigilante justice. A lynch mob approach is quite unacceptable."

Middleton bowed his head and nodded. The people in the gallery applauded as the judge stood to retire.

When the sentence was telephoned to the crowd downtown, they shouted, hooted and shook their fists in the air.

Directly outside the court, the news passed through the crowd like a game of Chinese Whispers. While some were jubilant, others were upset at hearing "jail term," not realising it was a suspended sentence.

Half an hour later, Middleton left by the back entrance, standing alone and looking almost startled as a handful of supporters and a sea of media staff turned to greet him.

A steady smile set firmly on his face, he strolled along Federal St, not responding at first to calls from the crowd - "Good on you, Mark" and "How does it feel to be free?"

He said: "I feel great. I just want to spend some time with my family."

The crowd kept in step and the cameras flashed. Across the road, outside Rydges Hotel, a busload of tourists gazed down from their seats.

As they left the bus, an American woman said: "There must be some kinda celebrity here. I wanna know who it is. Can you see?"

Middleton reached the corner of Federal and Kingston Sts, paused to ask where his brothers were, then turned the corner and headed for the front of the court.

Supporters swarmed up Kingston St to greet him.

They applauded and yelled their best wishes, some people waving placards, some pushing through the crowd to hug him and shake his hand.

Across the road, a team of road workers toiled steadily on. Cap on backwards, blue handkerchief tied on to the straps of his overalls, one paused briefly to offer his thoughts. "He got off, eh? Good on him."

It was a sentiment echoed at rallies around the country.



When Middleton reached the front of the courthouse he faced a barrage of questions.

He was asked about his sentence - "I wasn't expecting it."

What was he expecting? - "About five."

How did it feel to be free? - "It doesn't matter if you're in prison or not, you can still be free. In here [points to his heart] you can still be free."

Did he regret the threats he made? - "The future is yet to come, my friend."

Does he have any political ambitions? - "I've got plans. There is a future. This is pretty overwhelming.

"Hey, we've got a great country, eh? And it's going to get better. I've got to go and see my family."

He stopped and posed for a photo with 9-year-old Ainslee Carline, who gave him a red rose.

Climbing into the back of a taxi, he paused to address the media once more. "Just thank everybody for me. Wow."

Eight photographers frantically rammed their lenses in the door and windows as the taxi crawled off, taking Middleton back to where his day began, at the Auckland Central Remand Prison, to collect his belongings.

Then he was planning to spend the evening with his family before heading back to Wanganui.

Outside the prison, he said he never thought two years ago that his actions would bring him so close to jail.

Less than 25km away, Paul Dally is serving life imprisonment in Paremoremo for the torture, rape and murder of 13-year-old Karla. He has twice been refused parole.