Substantial compensation hinted for Bain

Published: 6:46PM Friday June 05, 2009 Source: ONE News

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David Bain's defence lawyer Michael Reed has already hinted that his team will be arguing for substantial compensation.

Bain walked out of court a free man on Friday, after spending 13 years in Paparua Prison.

The question now is how big will any compensation be, given the amount of time Bain spent behind bars.

"He has to apply for compensation to the cabinet... and whoever looks after that will do that no doubt, but that's something in the future now," says Reed.

It's tough to get a payout. In fact, according to the Ministry of Justice compensation guidelines, Bain may not be eligible.

Claimants must have served all or part of their sentence and then had their convictions either quashed on appeal, without order of a retrial or a pardon.

However the Crown reserves the ability to consider claims in extraordinary circumstances.

Only a small handful in New Zealand have been compensated.

New Zealand's most famous innocent man, also a Bain supporter, is Arthur Allan Thomas. He received $1 million.

And David Dougherty was paid nearly $870,000, after spending 1,200 days in prison for the rape and abduction of an 11 year old.

The court's not guilty verdict may be black and white, but in the world of compensation, there can be shades of grey.

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