| Alan Hall | |
| Known For: | Wrongful murder conviction |
| Criminal Penalty: | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal Status: | Conviction overturned |
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.[1] In August 2023, the Government agreed to pay him $5 million in compensation, the largest nominal payout for wrongful conviction in New Zealand history.[2]
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.[3]
As part of their investigation, police went from house to house in the neighbourhood seeking information. When they met Hall, he admitted he used to own a bayonet. Police then subjected him to lengthy interrogations without a lawyer. Hall was vulnerable due to being autistic – although this was not diagnosed until many years later. Under pressure from the police, he gave conflicting information about what had happened to his bayonet.
There was no evidence linking Alan Hall to the scene of the crime. Hall had no injuries, despite the murder occurring in a violent incident in which one of Easton's sons smashed a squash racket over the intruder's head multiple times until the squash racket was deformed and broken in two. At the trial, the police suppressed testimony from Easton's children that the intruder was Māori and failed to call a witness who also said he saw a Māori man running away from the house at the time. The police altered the written statement from this witness leaving out the ethnicity of the man he saw running away, while adding other erroneous, incriminating information about Alan Hall into the statement. At the trial, the judge read the altered statement to the jury unaware that it had been altered by the police. Police also failed to disclose to the defence information about another suspect which the defence could have used to challenge the Crown's case against Hall.
Aged 23, Hall was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He was released on parole after nine years, but 18 years later, in 2012, he was recalled after breaching one of his parole conditions. He was released again in March 2022, ten years later. Altogether, he spent 19 years in prison before the Supreme Court of New Zealand acknowledged a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred and overturned his conviction on 8 June 2022.[4]
Arthur Easton and his teenage sons, Brendan and Kim, were attacked in their home in Auckland, New Zealand on 13 October 1985. Brendan, aged 16 at the time, was in his bedroom studying when he heard a noise at the back door. When he went to investigate, he found an intruder had broken in. An altercation occurred and Brendan screamed for help. His father was in the lounge watching television and came rushing out. His older brother, Kim also joined in the struggle. During the incident, Arthur Easton was stabbed with a bayonet multiple times. Eventually, the offender fled, but left behind three pieces of evidence – a bayonet covered in blood, a woollen beanie and a single muddy footprint. Mr Easton bled to death in the hallway half an hour later. His sons were both injured but survived.[5]
Easton's sons described their attacker to police as a strong, six-foot Māori man, who did the stabbing with his right hand. Another eyewitness, Ronald Turner, told police he saw someone running away from the Easton's home at the time and also described the man as Māori.[6] Alan Hall came to police attention two months later when they were door knocking in the area looking for information. Hall acknowledged he had been out walking in an area located 1.5 km from the crime scene that night and that he owned a bayonet and beanie similar to the ones found at the scene.[7] [5]
Hall is Pākehā, meaning he is of European ancestry and is asthmatic, slightly-built, left-handed, and in height.[8] He was described at the time as "simple and intellectually backward".[9] His mother described him as frail, awkward and shy.[5] At the trial, the two Easton boys who had been attacked did not identify Hall as the intruder, and none of the sightings of someone running away from the scene matched his description. His finger prints were not found at the scene nor on the bayonet.[9] Nevertheless, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Hall was released on parole in November 1994 and remained in the community for the next 18 years.[10]