The Sounds Murders back in the News

[Zozza 363]

Looks like there is hope that justice for Scott Watson might finally be served.  
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300043462/sounds-murders-scott-watsons-case-sent-to-court-of-appeal

I wonder after all these years how Rob Pope sleeps at night.  He must know deep down he is largely responsible for destroying the best years of an innocent man's life.

I'm about halfway through this documentary this morning.  I can't stop shaking my head at what Pope's outfit got up to as they set about framing the yachtie Scott Watson.  Sickening really.

 

[RushMan 31]

Quick question from the article...

sentenced in 1999 for 17 years, why is he still in jail?

[Fish 0]

Can't get parole if he doesn't admit to doing it.

kind of a problem if he didn't do it.

I've got no opinion on if he did or didn't. But this admitting guilt before parole thing is a bit of an issue...

[RushMan 31]

Parole is for early release isn’t it?

 

[Ex Machina 390]

My great Aunt lives on Mangere mountain and saw a ketch matching the description the police put out .

it anchored in the manukau near the yacht club about a week after New Year’s Eve . She took a lot of interest in the boat because it’s very rare to see an out of town keeler of all things up there . She called it into the police more than once  and they didn’t follow her up .

i was surprised to read somewhere a few years ago that a ketch matching the description was spotted heading north off the Taranaki coast , just a few days after New Year’s Eve . Again no follow up and pretty high chance it was the same boat my aunt saw at Mangere .

who knows what the hell happened but the police missed a glaring oppurtunity with flashing bloody lights on top not following up on those two sightings of a boat matching the description taking an unusual route north .

[Fish 0]

1 hour ago, RushMan said:

Parole is for early release isn’t it?

 

I don't know, I've never needed it...

[Priscilla II 450]

The tiger blanket hairs linked to Olivia found weeks later after an initial forensic inspection have a lot in common with the Hutton & Johnstone planted shell casing belated found four months later that screwed Arthur Alan Thomas.

Be your worst nightmare banged up for 20 years for a crime you never committed and this case along with others lays great weight for the urgent the need for an independent legal mechanism than can test for injustices prosecuted by the state although now far to late for Peter Ellis.

 

 

 

 

[Priscilla II 450]

Well worth a read akin to a Shakespearean tragedy.

https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/currently-crime/the-full-interview-gerald-hope-and-scott-watson

[rossd 16]

7 hours ago, RushMan said:

Quick question from the article...

sentenced in 1999 for 17 years, why is he still in jail?

Not sure what the sentence was but the non parole time was 17 years.

[Island Time 1,313]

33 minutes ago, rossd said:

Not sure what the sentence was but the non parole time was 17 years.

Yep, but they wont let him out because he wont accept that he is guilty...

 

[RushMan 31]

1 hour ago, rossd said:

Not sure what the sentence was but the non parole time was 17 years.

Stuff article says 17 year sentence... 

Stuff needs to do some fact checking it seems

[Zozza 363]

5 hours ago, Priscilla II said:

Well worth a read akin to a Shakespearean tragedy.

https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/currently-crime/the-full-interview-gerald-hope-and-scott-watson

That's a very interesting read, Priscilla.

While you feel for Gerald Hope, the guy is just so naive after all these years, both in the way the Police framed the whole bunch of crap, and also the maritime side of things.

For example:

"Like the scrub marks on the hull: he could explain how he’d genuinely cleaned his hull, but Hope could always claim this was covering up for where the bodies had rubbed weed off the hull"

Jaysus christ, he actually believes the bodies could have floated up and scraped the side of the Blade's hull, when any sailor knows that's complete bullsh^t and that to scrape a hull you need physical force with a scraper or some similar instrument to remove fouling.....if he honestly thinks floating bodies rubbing against a steel hull removed weed fouling, then this guy, Gerald Hope, is nuts, sorry.  

[Dtwo 157]

Hmmm, personally I'm letting the professionals sort this out.  I wasn't there, honest.

[harrytom 698]

Found guilty on 2 of Olivia's hairs found on his vessel?? Now if the police at the time tested every person/vessel who was there and had made contact with Ben/Olivia how many would possibly hair some of there hair on clothing??

My cat has never been in the truck yet I have cat hair purely from brushing against the cat, transmission by association?

 

 

[darkside 69]

I was there (anchored out, never went ashore) and gave evidence at the trial.

A book or TV program spun entirely from the police/prosecution side would be an interesting read or watch. Or even a balanced program. But we will never see that will we.

[armchairadmiral 411]

I  remain of the opinion that whether or not he did it he should never have been convicted on the evidence presented at the trial. Too many speculative opinions ,changed evidence  and police shenanigans. Read the transcript and it doesn't make enough to convince you beyond reasonable doubt. I read about Guy Wallace in the media the other day saying he was pleased Watson was there because Wallace reckoned he was next on the list for a conviction. Watson is reported to sometimes be sullen and angry in gaol and that's why he's not ready for parole after 22 years. Just say he didn't do it and put yourself in his place . You'd be sullen and angry too ?. IMO there's too much doubt. He's done 22 years, parole him now....no new (expensive) trial and no payout if a new trial finds him not guilty

[Priscilla II 450]

Sounds like the grounds for appeal hinge on the hairs.

Advances in testing point to their origin being control samples from direct relatives and not Olivias.

Jail house snitch evidence used to nail home convictions like Scott Watsons mirror the David Tamihere case which now also heads to the Appeal Court.

Now is the time to remove such perilously suspect evidence from ever being used in a court of law.

 

 

[wheels 544]

There is one and only one reason why Watson is not being released. Purely and simply, he will not admit remorse, because he will not admit guilt. I think that tells you a lot about the guys character. Choosing to remain somewhere you don't want to be purely because you want to remain honest with yourself and everyone else. That's real integrity in my book. He is one of only a few that have basically a true life sentence where one can remain locked up for ever, with the only chance of Parole being subject to acknowledging one's guilt.
      Our legal system is no different to many other Countries around the World. We can't call it "Broken", but we sure can say it needs to be changed. Once a jury convicts a person based n the evidence presented, that evidence can no longer be re questioned. No matter how silly the evidence is. Only new evidence can ever be heard. In this case, the new evidence is in relation to the handling of the Blanket and if it is possible the Hairs could have been introduced to the Blanket accidentally during the Lab tests. Not that the hair was unlikely to be Olivia's, which has already been considered by the Jury and cannot be revisited.
Personally I don't like the way our legal system works. But it is what we have and we have to live with it.

[Nzgrant 19]

Just another bunch of honest cops right

[wheels 544]

39 minutes ago, Nzgrant said:

Just another bunch of honest cops right

No I don't think they were dishonest. But certainly not what we today would consider as "Good" Detective/Policing skills. All those Detectives bringing about similar results of many wrongly convicted people are all gone from the force today. They were old school. Bad habits, non professional. They viewed a suspect as if they were judge and jury and convicted them in their own minds, instead of looking at and for facts and facts alone. Today, our Police tend to be a lot more "professional", receive much better training and have had many examples of very poor Policing history which has actually resulted in major improvements today.
The rest comes down to the ability of the Defense and Prosecution providing and arguing those facts. To be honest, I really think if the Watson case was presented in court today, we may actually have a very different outcome. There are so many holes in the story, you could drive a bus through them. Not being privy to the defense info presented in court, I can only assume many of those points were never argued. The main hole in the story I see is purely time. There is simply no possible way that Watson could have traveled the distances that were described within the time stated. And that time discrepancy is by no means small. It is huge. Absolutely impossibly huge. A complete physical impossibility. The only way it could have been done is in a power boat. Was this ever argued??

The main area I still have real concern with though, is the Gvt Officials and their seemingly poor ability to view facts and say something is wrong with this case. But then again, if they are bound under the same way the law works with needing new evidence, maybe it is not their fault entirely either.