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Rough Justice The Rex Haig Story ISBN: 9781877460029 Release: 06-2008 Subject: NZ Non-fiction, autobiography Format: Paperback RRP: NZ$34.99 |
‘Rex Haig has always impressed me – before and after I met him – as a fine person, a very strong person. I find it unbearable that we keep imprisoning the wrong people. I want to help put Rex’s story out there so that the system is questioned and, hopefully, improved.’ Rennie Gould
Imagine spending 10 years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. Rex Haig did just that for the murder of Mark Roderique, a crew member on Haig’s own fishing boat, Antares. The murder conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in August 2006, nearly two years after Rex Haig’s release on parole. Haig’s nephew, David Hogan, who claimed that he saw his uncle kill Mr Roderique, is now regarded by the Court of Appeal as a suspect for the murder, and, by at least one of the three Appeal Court Judges, as an ‘utterly unreliable’ witness.
Rex Haig never gave up fighting against his wrongful conviction. His fight included involvement in a hostage-taking at Paparua Prison, Christchurch in October of 1997. The mediated resolution to that incident led to the government’s commitment to his case being reinvestigated by private investigator, Bryan Rowe and Auckland QC, Kevin Ryan. As a direct result of what Bryan Rowe uncovered, though it took another seven years, the matter finally came back before the Court of Appeal, which quashed the conviction and directed that no retrial take place. The effect of that decision was that Rex Haig was acquitted of this crime.
This is Rex Haig’s story, in his own words, as told to Wellington lawyer Rennie Gould. It’s the story of his time in remand prison, the murder of his chief witness, his trial and subsequent conviction and his struggle in prison to be heard and to be listened to.
Fortunately for Rex, while in prison he had the support of his family, his partner Erin, four prominent QCs and several lawyers, all champions who worked on the outside to free him of this dreadful wrong. Rennie Gould was one of the lawyers who saw a grave injustice.
This is an alarming but fascinating account of one man’s triumph over an unfair and unjust conviction.
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Reviewers Comments...
'Haig's story... is a captivating account of his treatment by our justice system, and it will have you eager to read to the end.' - NZ Lawyer, 2008 |
