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Source: ONE News -
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The Crown is considering an appeal after three men were acquitted on charges relating to breaking in and deflating a dome at the Waihopai spy base.
After just two hours of jury deliberations, teacher Adrian Leason, Dominican friar Peter Murnane and farmer Sam Land were found not guilty of intentional damage and burglary at the base.
"What we've done is maybe provide just a little bit of a focus on the base that has remained so well concealed for 20 years," says Leason.
The men used a "claim of right" defence.
"You can break into a house to save kids if the house is on fire, that's not a guilty thing. You damage property to save lives and we attacked property in a pretty moderate way to save enormous life," says Murnane.
But now the Crown is considering appealing the judge's decision to allow the claim of right defence and the police commissioner is also saying a civil case could be pursued for the million dollar damage bill.
"They put before us a document saying it's worth such a large figure but there's no invoice, there's no company name to put it back," says Murnane.
The men say the jury made their decision because they
established they were good honest men.
"They're resonating with a tradition that we have in this country,
which is standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves,"
says Leason.
But their resolve could be tested again if the authorities decide on a return to court. The Solicitor General is looking at the judge's ruling and directions to the jury to decide whether an appeal is possible or appropriate.
And the Police Commissioner says the not guilty verdicts in the Waihopai spy base case are inexplicable. Howard Broad says, while it's bizarre and he can't explain it, that sometimes happens.
Broad says it is possible a civil case could be taken over the million dollars in damage caused to the deflated dome.
The commissioner hopes legal commentators who say it will be almost impossible for anyone to use the same defence are right.
