Murder conviction overturned

After a 12-year battle to clear his name - including the kidnapping of prison officers to bargain for a review - Rex Haig has had the murder conviction against him quashed.

The Court of Appeal's unanimous decision, released yesterday, brought elation and relief to Mr Haig, who spent almost 10 years behind bars before being paroled from a life-sentence in 2004.

The decision permanently closed the case against Mr Haig and quashed his 1995 conviction for the murder of his crew member Mark Roderique. The judges said they could not acquit Mr Haig as they believed a credible case remained against him.

At the time, Mr Haig was skipper of a boat near Jackson's Bay on the West Coast that had three crew - Mr Roderique, Tony Sewell, and Mr Haig's nephew David Hogan.

Mr Haig and Mr Hogan had had a fight and beat up Mr Roderique, whose weighted body was dropped into the sea.

Mr Haig has always maintained his innocence and claimed his nephew was the guilty one.

His first appeal was turned down in July 1996. In 1999 Mr Haig's first mercy appeal - which was granted after he and others at Paparua prison took six officers hostage - was also rejected.

Yesterday's decision followed a second appeal which resulted in new evidence being produced at a hearing in June this year.

"The reality is that the new evidence casts major doubt on the reliability of Hogan's evidence," the decision said.

The evidence had destroyed the credibility of Mr Hogan, who was the crown's key witness in the 1995 trial.

"The Crown has always accepted that, without [Mr Hogan's] evidence, a conviction cannot stand in this case."

The additional evidence provided "an evidential basis" that Mr Hogan murdered Mr Roderique.

The court's decision said it was likely that, with the latest affidavits, the 1995 defence counsel would have had no choice but to pursue the theory that Mr Hogan was the killer.

Mr Hogan and Mr Sewell were granted immunity and a share of a $20,000 cash reward in return for testimony against Mr Haig.

Counsel for the Crown and Mr Haig in June accepted that, given the new evidence, either Mr Haig or Mr Hogan could have committed the murder.

The Crown said the 1995 jury had statements alleging Mr Hogan was the killer, but dismissed them, instead agreeing with his statement, despite his having initially lied to police. There were also several holes in his story.

"It is difficult to see how the Crown could have dealt with the sheer volume of evidence now available as to admissions apparently made by Hogan which are not consistent with his evidence at trial."

Furthermore, it said the new evidence was sufficiently credible because none of the witnesses was called for cross-examination.

This is despite the fact that some of the alleged admissions were riddled with inconsistencies.

The new evidence would have changed the shape of the 1995 defence, which focused on attacking Mr Hogan's credibility.

Pursuing the theory that Mr Hogan was the killer could have implicated Mr Haig as an accessory after the fact to murder. Mr Haig did not testify at the trial.

The court rejected a retrial for several reasons including the 12 years that had lapsed since Mr Roderique's death, and that key witnesses are now dead, including Mr Sewell.

Also a factor was that Mr Haig has already served a life sentence and a retrial, if he was convicted again, could could result in a second life term.

The court said the whole episode raised issues around the practice of giving immunity and rewards in return for testimony.


What the judges said

On David Hogan: "The new evidence casts major doubt on the reliability of Hogan's evidence and ... provides an evidential basis for the proposition that Hogan murdered the deceased."

On Rex Haig: "We would not be prepared to enter a judgment of acquittal. There remains a credible case against the appellant which our judgment has not disposed of."