The terrorist responsible for New Zealand’s worst mass killing has failed to get his guilty pleas vacated, with the Court of Appeal describing his application to do so as being "utterly devoid of merit".
By Mason Herbert and Thomas Mead
Convicted terrorist Brenton Tarrant killed 51 Muslims across two Christchurch mosques on March 15 2019, gunning them down without mercy as they worshipped.
The white supremacist gunman, who also livestreamed the killing and published a hateful manifesto, later admitted his crimes, and pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2020, in what remains the heaviest sentence in New Zealand judicial history.
However Tarrant went on to file an application for an extension of time to appeal his convictions. He argued that his guilty pleas were not given voluntarily due to “inhumane” prison conditions, which he claims he suffered while being held in solitary confinement.
The gunman gave evidence to that effect in February in what was an extraordinary hearing at the Court of Appeal in Wellington, where he claimed his mental health was “wildly fluctuating” at the time he pleaded guilty.
His lawyers at appeal – who in a highly unusual move, were granted name suppression, argued that the killer had suffered from a “miscarriage of justice”.
His complaints included that he had not been given enough reading material, and that the guards had been playing “mental games” during his incarceration.
If his appeal had been successful, it would have led to a new trial on what is New Zealand’s worst mass killing.
However Tarrant’s request has now been thrown out, with the Court of Appeal rejecting his arguments and pointing out that his application was filed 505 working days too late. The timeframe is normally just 20 days.
In a media release accompanying the judgment, the Court of Appeal explained that the three justices – French, Thomas and Collins – did not accept the terrorist's claims.
“There are inconsistencies in Mr Tarrant’s own evidence about the severity of his mental state,” the release said.
“His evidence is also at complete odds with the detailed observations of prison authorities and the assessments of most mental health professionals.”
The justices found that his claims were also not consistent with evidence given by his own trial lawyers – both of whom were called in for the Court of Appeal hearing in February.
Ultimately, the justices found that the guilty pleas were voluntary and that he was not coerced or pressured in any way to plead guilty.
“The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that he was not suffering any significant psychological impacts as a result of his prison conditions at the time he pleaded guilty,” the ruling said.
It concluded that the killer's proposed appeal was “utterly devoid of merit”. It also said he has failed to justify the “long delay in filing his notice of appeal”.
“The wider interests of society, and particularly the victims of Mr Tarrant’s offending, strongly favour declining Mr Tarrant’s application to extend time to appeal his convictions,” the court said.
In another bizarre twist, the Court has also revealed that Tarrant fired his lawyers and changed his mind about his application in recent months.
It said that after the hearing in February the terrorist had filed a formal “notice of abandonment” advising the Court he no longer wanted to pursue the application surrounding his guilty pleas, or a separate application appealing his sentence.
The Court rejected his attempt to abandon the hearing about the pleas, saying that “wider public interest considerations” had been engaged.
“Mr Tarrant’s application and conviction appeal are of significant public interest and should be finally determined,” it said.
It then gave its final decision on that application – declining it.
However the Court did accept his request to abandon the separate appeal against his sentence, as this had not yet been discussed.
It means that this appeal process is now entirely at an end; his application to vacate the pleas has been considered and declined, and there will no longer be a separate appeal about his prison term.
The killer will remain in prison for the rest of his life, with no prospect of parole.
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