Gwaze acquittals quashed, retrial ordered

29 May 2010 08:52a.m.

david wrote:

that avery sad story i personally worked with george for 9 years at the provincial veterinary office in harare,he is not capable of doing such an evil thing i will pray and ask god to help gwazed out of this problem

18 May 2010 02:23p.m.

Lisa wrote:

Does anyone remember reading an article in the Press soon after the trial in which the jury wrote a letter to david collins telling him they were very concerned about a retrial because the police case was weak and very shaky? I hear the same jury also told the high court post trial that they didn't even consider the hearsay evidence in their deliberations so lets see the Crown have another phenomenal loss. Its their making - let them face the music. If anyone can find the article from the Press in 2008 please post the date it was printed and i'll search for it. This is shocking. david collins should hang his head in shame for real. I can understand why the family is crying foul - I don't think the jury was so stupid that one line of evidence from a south african doctor could have swayed them. So why not tretry Bain, Kahui and every other person who has been acquitted of murder in NZ???

17 May 2010 11:03p.m.

M wrote:

I think the family is being used as scapegoats for every case the Crown has lost. Anyone who sat through the trial and subsequent court hearings can tell you this case was, is and always will be a sham. As a migrant who moved here to look for a better life I have to I am extremely disappointed and disgusted with the blatant disregard for justice shown by the 'justice' system in this case. I sat through a hearing where this country's very own solicitor general lie in court of law. Not only does it suck - it's embarassing.

17 May 2010 09:56p.m.

Ross wrote:

It is inconceivable that Charlene was raped and murdered while a sibling, who slept just an arm's length away, was not awoken. David Collins should hang his head in shame. Collins clearly thinks that Mr Gwaze has not suffered enough. Having said that, I presume that we can now look forward to Mr Collins coming to the aid of Mr Peter Ellis, whose trial and conviction were largely the product of hysteria. The Ellis case has remained a festering sore on the backside of the criminal justice system in this country. Alas, Mr Collins and his friends in high places lack the moral courage or intellectual honesty to address this disgrace. Peter Ellis is a reminder of everything that is wrong with the justice system in this country. Like Eliis, George Gwaze happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. One can only hope that at Gwaze's retrial, jurors will put aside innuendo and speculation and base their decision on the facts.

17 May 2010 09:11p.m.

NS wrote:

Not happy with this debacle to say the least.
I know there is - I suppose - a technicality, but what the ... ?

17 May 2010 08:48p.m.

katrina wrote:

Due court process should have been followed. Heresay is never taken as valued evidence. This is not persecution it is justice. If the defence think this SA doctor has something worth saying then they should bring him here to testify.

17 May 2010 07:03p.m.

bukster wrote:

This is a very worrying development in New Zealand law. A not guilty verdict is supposed to be the end of the matter. If this is OK does this mean David Bain may find himself on trial again? Chris Kahui perhaps? A second trial is double jeopardy. That is not supposed to happen under western law. If this is OK then when the crown doesn't get the verdict it wants, it can just try again and again until a guilty verdict is returned.

17 May 2010 06:14p.m.

M wrote:

As a family memeber, I just want to say i am completely shocked by this decision. Well done NZ justice system - you have shown your true colours. This is persecution and not prosecution.