Christchurch shooter seeks to appeal conviction and withdraw guilty plea

The man who killed 51 Muslim worshippers in two mosques during New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting told an appeals court on Monday that he was forced to plead guilty due to "irrationality" caused by harsh prison conditions, and sought to overturn his guilty plea, AP reports, writes UNN.

Details

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal in Wellington will hear Brenton Tarrant's testimony over five days that he was unable to plead guilty to terrorism, murder, and attempted murder charges brought against him after the 2019 Christchurch attack. If his motion is granted, his case will return to court for trial, which was avoided in March 2020 when he pleaded guilty to the hate-motivated shooting.

He is also seeking to appeal his life sentence without parole, which has never before been applied in New Zealand. Tarrant's testimony on Monday regarding his mental state at the time of his guilty plea was the first time he has spoken publicly in a meaningful way since livestreaming the 2019 massacre on Facebook.

Monday's hearing took place under strict security measures that severely limited access to Tarrant's testimony, including some journalists and those affected or who lost loved ones in the massacre. Tarrant, dressed in a white button-down shirt, black-rimmed glasses, and with a shaved head, appeared via video link from a white-walled room in Auckland Prison.

Answering questions from the prosecutor and lawyers representing him, 35-year-old Tarrant stated that his mental health had deteriorated due to the conditions of his imprisonment, where he was held in solitary confinement with limited access to reading and contact with other prisoners.

By the time he pleaded guilty, Tarrant said he was suffering from "nervous exhaustion" and uncertainty about his identity and beliefs. He confessed to the crimes months before the trial began because "there was little I could do," he said.

Prosecutors argue there is no evidence of serious mental illness.

Prosecutor Barnaby Hawes suggested during his questioning of Tarrant that the Australian had other options. He could have asked for a postponement of the trial date due to mental health, or he could have taken the case to court and defended himself, Hawes said.

Hawes also told Tarrant that there was virtually no evidence in the documentation compiled by mental health experts and prison staff that he was in a serious mental crisis. Tarrant suggested that the signs of mental illness he exhibited were not recorded, and at times he tried to hide them.

"I was definitely doing my best to appear confident, calm, and mentally sound," he told the court. Tarrant's behavior "reflected the political movement I am a part of," he added. "So I always wanted to look my best."

He confirmed that he had access to legal advice throughout the trial. Tarrant's lawyers this year were granted anonymity because they feared that representing him could put them at risk.

The appeal results are expected later.

Appeals against convictions or sentences in New Zealand must be filed within 20 working days. Tarrant filed his appeal approximately two years late, submitting documents to the court only in September 2022.

On Monday, he told the court that he filed the appeal late because he did not have access to the necessary information.

The hearing is expected to continue until the end of the week, but judges are expected to issue their decision later. If they reject Tarrant's attempt to overturn his guilty plea, his appeal against the sentence will be heard at the next hearing.

Addition

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who carried out terrorist acts in Christchurch mosques in New Zealand on March 15, 2019, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in August 2020.