Sir Thomas Kerry Burke is a New Zealand politician. He represented the Labour Party, serving throughout the second term of the Fourth Labour Government, and served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1987 to 1990.
John Archibald Banks is a New Zealand former politician. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1981 to 1999, and for ACT New Zealand from 2011 to 2014. He was a Cabinet Minister from 1990 to 1996 and 2011 to 2013. He left Parliament after being convicted of filing a false electoral return – a verdict which was later overturned.
Kenneth Lex Shirley is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of the ACT New Zealand party, although was previously a member and Cabinet minister of the Labour Party.
Taito Phillip Hans Field was a Samoan-born New Zealand trade unionist and politician. A Member of Parliament (MP) for South Auckland electorates from 1993 to 2008, Field was the first New Zealand MP of Pacific Island descent. He was a minister outside Cabinet in a Labour-led government from 2003 to 2005.
Sir Douglas Arthur Montrose Graham is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party.
The Bain family murders were the deaths by gunshot of Robin and Margaret Bain and three of their four children – Arawa, Laniet and Stephen – in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 20 June 1994. The only suspects were David Cullen Bain, the eldest son and only survivor, and Robin Bain, the father. David Bain, aged 22, was charged with five counts of murder. In May 1995, he was convicted on each of the five counts and sentenced to mandatory life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of sixteen years.
In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons to convicted persons. The royal prerogative of mercy was originally used to permit the monarch to withdraw, or provide alternatives to death sentences; the alternative of penal transportation to "partes abroade" was used since at least 1617. It is now used to change any sentence or penalty. A royal pardon does not overturn a conviction.
Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis was a New Zealand child care worker who was wrongfully convicted of child sexual abuse. He was at the centre of one of the country's most enduring judicial controversies, after being found guilty in June 1993 in the High Court of New Zealand on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. He maintained his innocence until his death 26 years later and was supported by many New Zealanders in his attempts to overturn his convictions. Concerns about the reliability of the convictions centred on lurid stories told by many of the children and the interview techniques used to obtain their testimony. Ellis was exonerated by a landmark Supreme Court decision in October 2022, which found that evidence against him and misleading expert testimony resulted in a miscarriage of justice in New Zealand.
Apisai Ielemia was a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010, and was returned as a member of parliament in the 2010 Tuvaluan general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. On 5 October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia’s parliamentary seat was vacant as he was not qualified to be a member of parliament, as the consequence of the short time the opposition MP served time in jail following his conviction on 6 May 2016 in the Magistrate’s Court of charges of abuse of office during the final year of his term as Prime Minister. The abuse of office charges related to payments deposited into a National Bank of Tuvalu personal account. The 5 October 2016 decision of the Chief Justice was controversial as it appeared to contradict the June 2016 decision of Justice Norman Franzi of the High Court of Tuvalu that had quashed Ielemia’s conviction and acquitted him of the abuse of office charges. The appeal to the High Court held that the conviction was "manifestly unsafe," with the court quashing the 12-month jail term.
Philip Tosswill Edmond Woollaston is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Nelson from 1981 to 1990 and Mayor of Nelson from 1992 to 1998.
Sir Edward Michael Coulson Fowler was a New Zealand architect and author who served as mayor of Wellington from 1974 to 1983.
Life imprisonment has been the most severe criminal sentence in New Zealand since the death penalty was abolished in 1989, having not been used since 1957.
The judiciary of New Zealand is responsible for the system of courts that interprets and applies the laws of New Zealand. It has four primary functions: to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution; to deliver authoritative rulings on the meaning and application of legislation; to develop case law; and to uphold the rule of law, personal liberty and human rights. The judiciary is supported in its work by an executive department, the Ministry of Justice.
Helene Ruth Paula Ritchie is a former politician, a registered psychologist and mediator, and a board member from Wellington, New Zealand. As Wellington's longest serving City Councillor of over 30 years, she served as deputy Labour Leader on the council, then as Labour Leader for six years leading the Labour team to a majority position on the Council. Later, she was the first female deputy mayor, chaired the Airport Authority for eight years, and all New Zealand Airport Authorities for six.
David Arthur Shand is a former New Zealand academic, politician and international civil servant.
Stuart Keith Spry was a New Zealand swimmer, conservationist and local politician. On his death The Dominion described him as "one of the great identities of Wellington city".
Stewart Hector James Duff was a New Zealand businessman, civic advocate and politician. Rarely seen in public without his trademark bow tie, his dedication to improving Wellington's airport was second to none.
Heather Simpson is a New Zealand civil servant who was chief of staff for Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark for nine years and who worked with Clark for more than 20 years.
The New Zealand Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent Crown entity that was set up under the Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019 to investigate potential miscarriages of justice. The Commission came into being on 1 July 2020. The CCRC replaces the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) whereby the Governor-General, following a review of the case by the Ministry of Justice, could pardon the defendant or recommend the Appeal Court reconsider the case.
Alan Hall was convicted of murdering 52 year old Arthur Easton in 1985 in what has been described as one of New Zealand's worst miscarriages of justice. Easton and his two teenage sons were attacked by an intruder who broke into their house carrying a Swiss bayonet. All three were stabbed during the incident and Arthur Easton bled to death shortly thereafter. The intruder was described by Easton's sons and other witnesses as Māori, 6 feet tall and strong. Alan Hall was a 5ft7, slightly-built, asthmatic and Pākehā.
