1 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Hey there, it's Laura and I writer. I am here 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: with an update on a case we shared with you 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 1: back in Season one of False Confessions. It's the story 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: of Tana Porra, which is perhaps the most famous wrongful 5 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: conviction in New Zealand. Shortly after our episode aired, New 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: Zealand officially opened the Criminal Cases Review Commission or CCRC 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: to investigate other possible wrongful convictions. Like Conviction Integrity Units 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: here in the US, the CCRC will reinvestigate cases and 9 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: present its findings to the court, which will then weigh 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: the evidence and grant relief if they see fit. Since 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: the CCRC began operation in New Zealand in twenty twenty, 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: the work of its investigators has led to one exoneration 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: already and three more seem likely in the near future. 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: This is a hugely positive step in New Zealand, where 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: justice can move really slowly and exonerations like these have 16 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: been exceedingly rare. But with the CEA CRC, true justice 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: seems a lot closer at hand. Welcome to wrongful conviction, 18 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: False Confessions. I'm Laura and I Writer. 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 2: And I'm Steve Drissen. 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: So far we've told you false confession stories that span 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: the United States, from urban Chicago to rural Nebraska. Today, 22 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: we'll take you across the globe to New Zealand with 23 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: a story that still hits way too close to home. 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,199 Speaker 1: A sixteen year old boy who confessed to a rape 25 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: and murder he didn't commit. His wrongful conviction allowed the 26 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: real offender, a prolific serial rapist, to assault dozens of 27 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: other women, while a teenager languished behind bars after making 28 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: a murder. Came out season two, Steve and I have 29 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: had an opportunity to travel around the globe talking to 30 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: audiences about the problem of false confessions and the need 31 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: for criminal justice reform. We've spoken everywhere from the United 32 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: States to the United Kingdom, to Ireland to Australia. You 33 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,119 Speaker 1: remember this guy, Steve, who traveled around Australia with us. 34 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 2: Oh God, this guy, this guy was beautiful. 35 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: What was his name, Jimond? 36 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 2: His name was Simon. Simon. Simon was like a roadie 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 2: from the nineteen seventies, always wearing black T shirts and 38 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 2: deep into the heavy metal scene. 39 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: Somehow, poor Simon gets assigned to the lawyers who are 40 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: traveling around talking about false confessions. One of my personal 41 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: points of pride though, is that by the end of 42 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: this trip around Australia, he seemed to like what we 43 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: were trying to do, so we had a great time 44 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: with him. But Simon kept asking us, as did everybody 45 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: else we met around Australia. Have you heard about Tana Pora? 46 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: Have you heard about New Zealand's Brendon Dassy? And that's 47 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: exactly who Tana is. 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 2: Police officers around the world are often trained in very 49 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: similar ways about how to interrogate suspects, and so I 50 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 2: expected and was beginning to discover false confessions in places 51 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 2: like Japan and Korea and other Commonwealth countries like Australia 52 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 2: and New Zealand and Canada. 53 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: These are stories that hit home around the globe, whether 54 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: it's for you know, social justice driven lawyers or heavy 55 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: metal roadies. You know Tanapora, Brendan Dassy. We all know 56 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: someone vulnerable like them, and we can all see the 57 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: need to do justice in cases like these. Tanapora's story 58 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: starts about eight thousand miles away from where Steve and 59 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: I are sitting right now in the United States. It 60 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: starts in South Auckland. That's an urban area on the 61 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: southern edge of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. It's home 62 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: to a large minority population, including Maureed's, the indigenous Polynesian 63 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: population of New Zealand. Parts of South Auckland can have 64 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: no negative connotations. Too often it's associated with poverty and crime. 65 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: When our story starts in nineteen ninety two, South Auckland 66 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: was home to a thirty nine year old woman named 67 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: Susan Burdette. Susan lived alone in a tidy house on 68 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: Paw Road. She worked days as an account's clerk at 69 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: a chemical manufacturing company, and on the evening of March 70 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: twenty third, nineteen ninety two, Susan leaves her weekly bowling 71 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: league meet up and drives home under a night of 72 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: beautiful stars. Susan's a hard worker, so when she doesn't 73 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: show up at work the next few days, her colleagues 74 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: get concerned. They call her friend Steve eventually to find 75 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: out if he knows where she is. Steve gets worried 76 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: and he ends up going over to Susan's house that Wednesday, 77 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: March twenty fifth, at about twelve forty pm. He finds 78 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: the front door unlocked, goes inside and is greeted with 79 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: a horrible sight. Susan is lying horizontally on her waterbed 80 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: and she's clearly dead. The upper half of her body 81 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: is wrapped in a duvet and there's a wooden baseball 82 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: bat lying on the bed next to her. Her legs 83 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: are dangling off the side of the bed and they're crossed. 84 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: Someone whoever did this had positioned her that way. The 85 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: police arrived, they remove the duvet and they find that 86 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: Susan had been beaten badly about the head, very likely 87 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: with the baseball bat. She'd also been sexually assaulted, and 88 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: there's plenty of DNA left behind seamen, as well as 89 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: a bloody smudge mark on a light switch. Susan's hands 90 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,559 Speaker 1: were covered with defensive wounds, which indicates that she'd fought 91 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,919 Speaker 1: back against her attacker, and her friends later identified the 92 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: baseball bat as belonging to Susan. She had kept it 93 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: next to her bed for her own protection. The police 94 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: begin by investigating Susan's other friends, but DNA and alibis 95 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: clear them all and the investigation quickly stalls. The pressure 96 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: is building building, that is until about a week after 97 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: the murder. That's when police get a call from a 98 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,679 Speaker 1: woman named Garry McLaughlin, and she tells them a story 99 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: about her then sixteen year old nephew, a shaggy haired, 100 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: baby faced mawory kid named Tana Pora. 101 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 2: Well, let's talk about Tana for a bit. Tana had 102 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 2: it rough growing up. His mother died when he was 103 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 2: a young boy, and his father left shortly afterwards. He 104 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 2: then got passed around from family member to family member 105 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 2: and ultimately ended up in his aunt Terry's house. 106 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: A few days after Susan Burdett's murder made headlines, Tana 107 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: and some friends found a baseball bat in the local 108 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: park and they were joking about it being the murder weapon. 109 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,799 Speaker 1: Back at Aunt Terry's house, Tana kept talking about the bat. 110 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: Tana had a history of run ins with the law, 111 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: nothing really serious, but enough for Terry to want him 112 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: out of her house. She called the police over and over, 113 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: insisting that Tana knew something about Susan Burdett's murder. But 114 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: police quickly come to the conclusion that Tana and his 115 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: buddies were just over excited teens who are talking shit. 116 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: They interview Tana, they take his DNA, They even execute 117 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: a search warrant, but Tana and his friends are ruled 118 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: out conclusively as Susan Burdett's killers. The DNA doesn't match, 119 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: the search warrant turns up nothing, and while tana does 120 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: have a record, there is nothing in his background that 121 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: would suggests this level of violence or depravity. 122 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 2: Now, let's fast forward almost exactly twelve months to March eighteenth, 123 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety three. We're almost a year out now from 124 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 2: the discovery of Susan Burdett's body. In the course of 125 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 2: police investigations. That's a lifetime and this is the only 126 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 2: unsolved homicide from nineteen ninety two. 127 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: Tana Pora is seventeen years old. Now he still has 128 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: that babyface, but his police record has grown. During a 129 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: routine interview with Tana about a car theft, police get 130 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: an anonymous phone tip about Susan Burdett's murder. This caller 131 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: links the murder to a local gang called the mongrel 132 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: Agang Tana is rumored to have connections with, so the 133 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: police decide to keep him at the station for questioning. 134 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: His interrogation begins at nine am and continues for the 135 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: next four days. 136 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 2: The police have Tana Pora in the interrogation room and 137 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 2: he's telling multiple different stories. The stories don't make any sense. 138 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 2: It's not an interrogation with banging of the table or 139 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 2: raised voices or threats or even promises. 140 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 3: To unite a comment that you're gonna tell us more? 141 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 3: Is that correct? Okay? 142 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 2: Well, tell us this is a seventeen year old kid 143 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: who is highly suggestible and eager to please the authorities. 144 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 2: They're applying him with cigarettes and fast food and drinks. 145 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 3: You head spring raw bodog chips and drink. Is that correct? 146 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: The detectives even mentioned twenty thousand dollars as a reward 147 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: for information about Susan Burdette's rape and murder. Tana's story 148 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: keeps evolving, and the camera keeps getting turned on and off. 149 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 3: You said you were going to tell us everything. 150 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: First, Tana tells the police that he drove two other 151 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: men to Susan's house and waited outside while they went 152 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: into attacker. 153 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 3: Are you telling us about a person called dog raping 154 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 3: this woman? Did you hear any more or see any more? 155 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 3: It's outside in the caravan. 156 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: Eventually he changes that story. 157 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 3: I thought what you've said so fair that you've climbed 158 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 3: it in the bedroom window and you've gone through to 159 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 3: open the door up for the other two. 160 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: All right, now he's climbing in through one of Susan 161 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,959 Speaker 1: Burdette's windows and letting the other two in through the 162 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: front door. 163 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 3: And you were inlier. You could see quite clearly what 164 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 3: was happening, Is that right? Okay? 165 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 2: I was just watching and you. 166 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 3: Were just watching. 167 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: And in the end, after four days, Tana confesses to 168 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: being in the room, to actually holding Susan down while 169 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: his two associates raped her. 170 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 3: And you were in the room some of this time 171 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 3: while this was happening. Is that right? You are holding 172 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 3: Susan dan? 173 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 2: And that last story, the one that ultimately seals Tana's fate. 174 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 2: It comes after a break in the tea room, where 175 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 2: of course, the cameras are turned off at. 176 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: The suggestion of the police. Tana identifies this too supposed 177 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:27,839 Speaker 1: accomplices as senior members of the Mongrel Mob, that local gang. 178 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 1: The police bring in those two individuals that Tana had named, 179 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: but their DNA doesn't match the DNA found on Susan's body. 180 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: They're cleared and they're released. Things don't go as smoothly 181 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: for Tana. He's arrested based on his confession. He's charged 182 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: with Susan Burdett's rape and murder, and fourteen long months later, 183 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: prosecutors try Tana Porra for participating in the murder of 184 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: Susan Burdett along with two unknown accomplices. 185 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 2: And let's stop right here for a minute. This is 186 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 2: round one of the battle of these two titans of evidence, 187 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 2: confessions versus DNA. DNA seemed to clear Tanapora of any 188 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 2: role in this crime, but it's the confessions that ultimately 189 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 2: lead to his conviction. 190 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: On June sixteenth, nineteen ninety four, a jury took less 191 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: than ninety minutes to convictaan Apora of rape and murder. 192 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: He received a life sentence and was shipped off to prison. 193 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: At the same time, the New Zealand Police are beginning 194 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: a focused investigation into six rapes that had occurred between 195 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,959 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight and nineteen ninety two in the Auckland area, 196 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: including Susan Burdette's rape. Now, these attacks were all similar 197 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: enough that some police officers began to worry that they 198 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: had a serial rapist on their hands. All of them 199 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: involved a lone wolf attacker who broke into women's homes, 200 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 1: wrapped their heads in blankets or duveys and repositioned them 201 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: so that they lay sideways across the edge of the 202 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: bed during the attack. And by April nineteen ninety six, 203 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: a few years after Tana's conviction, the investigation into these 204 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: rapes linked them all, including Susan Burdett's attack, to the 205 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: DNA of the same person, a man named Malcolm Raywa. 206 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 2: Now, who is Malcolm Rewa? First of all, he's twenty 207 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 2: years older than Tana Porra. And while I usually try 208 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 2: to avoid characterizing my fellow humans like this, Raywa is 209 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 2: a monster. He's a terrifying figure, a prolific serial rapist. 210 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: He's the kind of predator that women worry about. He's 211 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: the worst nightmare. 212 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 2: Raywak committed his first rape in the nineteen seventies. His 213 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 2: wife was in labor giving birth to their child at 214 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 2: the time, so Raywa took the oppertains unity to sexually 215 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 2: assault a nurse in a hospital bed. 216 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: Unbelievable four and a. 217 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 2: Half years in prison he spent for that awful crime. 218 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: So Raywah gets out of prison and apparently rapes again 219 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: from then on. Over the dozens of rapes that he 220 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: went on to commit, Raywa started developing a pattern an 221 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: m O. He'd carefully select his victims, who tended to 222 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,559 Speaker 1: be single women, professionals who were home alone. He'd stake 223 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,199 Speaker 1: out their homes in advance and plan his attacks meticulously, 224 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: and then always the same thing, a surprise attack after 225 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: the woman had fallen asleep, a physical attack first to 226 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: subdue her, then the blanket or duvet around her head, 227 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,599 Speaker 1: and a rape at the side of the bed. 228 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,520 Speaker 2: And raa would hide in their homes. He would wait 229 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 2: for them to get into bed and begin to fall asleep, 230 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 2: and then he would attack. 231 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: Raywa apparently suffered from a rectile dysfunction, which is why 232 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: he positioned his victims in a way that allowed him 233 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: to maintain sexual coind during his attacks. That's also why 234 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: he acted alone. He didn't exactly want an audience. Ray 235 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: was arrested on May thirteenth, nineteen ninety six. It's a 236 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: pretty dramatic sting operation. Actually, the police had been planning 237 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: this for quite some time. When he tries to run, 238 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: police dogs wrestle this guy to the ground. Now, the 239 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: police remember that Tanapora had already confessed to one of 240 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: the rapes, to which Reywa is tied by DNA, so 241 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: they immediately ask him if he knows Tana Pora. Reywa 242 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: is crystal clear never met him. Based on the arrest 243 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: of Malcolm Rawa, the Court of Appeals throws out Tana's 244 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: conviction in nineteen ninety. 245 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 2: Nine, never met him. Now, at this point in time, 246 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 2: where you have a prolific serial rapist operating in the 247 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: same neighborhood as the Burdette murder and his DNA is 248 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 2: at the crime scene and he's telling you I don't 249 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 2: know Tanapura, most prosecutors and police officers would throw their 250 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 2: hands up and say we can't go forward with a 251 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 2: reprosecution of Tana Pora. We have to free him. 252 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: But instead Tana is retried, and if you've listened to 253 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: this podcast, you know what's coming. Prosecutors change their theory 254 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: of the case and argue at Tana's second trial that 255 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: he and Rewa raped and killed Susan Burdett together, even 256 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: though Rewa had denied knowing Tana, even though Rewa always 257 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: acted alone, and even though Rewa would never have wanted 258 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: some teenager there to witness his sexual dysfunction. 259 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 2: So now we have round two of a battle between 260 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 2: confession evidence and DNA evidence, except this time we know 261 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 2: whose DNA it is. It's the DNA of a serial 262 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 2: rapist named Malcolm Rewa. Will Tana's confession bring him down? 263 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 2: Or will the jury side with the science and recognize 264 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: that Tanapora and Malcolm had never met. 265 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: Sure Enough, despite all hopes that the DNA evidence would 266 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: be enough to clear Tana, Tana was convicted a second 267 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: time of raping and murdering Susan Burdette and sent back 268 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: to his life sentence. Meanwhile, Malcolm Raywa himself stood trial 269 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: for three months in nineteen ninety eight on what amounted 270 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: to forty five counts of rape, involving twenty seven different women. 271 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: His trial ended with convictions for sexually assaulting twenty five 272 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: of them, including Susan Burdett. Just like Tana, he was 273 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: shipped off to prison for decades. Now, this is justice 274 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: for Rewa, but for Tana Porra it's anything but. And 275 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: for years Tana served as time with little hope of freedom, 276 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: and things might have stayed bleak for him had it 277 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: not been for a man named Tim mckinnal. 278 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 2: Now, who is Tim. 279 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 4: Mckinnall At the moment, Tom is self employed, private and vistagata. 280 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 4: But when I finished university. I joined the police as 281 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 4: a twenty two year old. 282 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,479 Speaker 2: Tim McKinnell started out his career as a cup, a 283 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 2: good cup, one of the best cups. Tim had become 284 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,199 Speaker 2: a member of the South Auckland Police Force in the 285 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 2: late nineteen nineties, eventually rising to junior detective by the 286 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 2: year two thousand. That year, the force had been divided 287 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,120 Speaker 2: over the case of Tanapura. 288 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 4: A lot of chat went on in the police bar 289 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 4: at the time, and there was a real disconnect between 290 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 4: two different groups of people. People that thought Tana Porter 291 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,360 Speaker 4: was a guilty man and had been involved in the 292 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 4: rape and murder of Susan Bidett, and there was another 293 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 4: camp of experienced police officers who thought that he was 294 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 4: an innocent man. 295 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 2: In fact, Tim remembers seeing all manner of drunken arguments 296 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 2: at police bars and he was struck by the passion 297 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 2: of those who believed in Tana Pura. 298 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: Tim never forgot those arguments or his own growing doubt 299 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: about Tana's guilt, even after he eventually left the police force, 300 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: and as many retired officers do, he became a private investigator. 301 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: Now in two thousand and seven, Tim attended a local 302 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: conference on wrongful convictions and false confessions, and that conference 303 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: brought up those old, lingering questions that Tim had about 304 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: Tana's case. The last straw came when Tim was diagnosed 305 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: in his thirties with a rare blood disorder, not exactly 306 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 1: a death sentence, but the kind of health scare that 307 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: led him to reevaluate his priorities and seek out more 308 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: meaningful work like freeing the innocent. Eventually, Tim decided to 309 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: take the plunge. In two thousand and nine, he visited 310 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: Tana Pora, who was then thirty four years old in prison. 311 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,399 Speaker 1: Tana was no longer that teenage car thief Tim had 312 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: read about. He was polite, well mannered, surprisingly gentle, even warm. 313 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: Tim begins to feel an urge to help this guy. 314 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,239 Speaker 2: But there's the matter of Tana's confession. Tim starts by 315 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 2: digging up videotapes of Tina's interrogation, and they're not easy 316 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 2: to find. They're on old VHS tapes in boxes in 317 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 2: police departments. But he gets them and he sits down 318 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 2: to watch them, and he is blown away by what 319 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:16,679 Speaker 2: he saw. 320 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 4: When you examine what he was able to say on 321 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 4: day one. In the first few interviews on tape, and 322 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 4: you compare that to what he was able to say 323 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,919 Speaker 4: four days later, there are marked differences. There were some 324 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 4: very particular things that happened in Susan's house that the 325 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 4: offender would know, and it's clear from the interviews that 326 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 4: Tana Porter had no idea about any of them. 327 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 1: Despite four days worth of trying, Tina just was not 328 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 1: able to tell a story that matched what actually happened. 329 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: When police asked him to describe Susan Burdette, he says 330 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: she was chubby, even though she was actually quite athletic. 331 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: Tina is asked to draw a picture of how he 332 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: left Susan's body. Remember she'd been found horizontally with her 333 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: legs dangling over the side of the bed, but he 334 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: draws her lying vertically on the bad. 335 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:05,199 Speaker 4: When he was. 336 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: Asked whether there was anything special about Susan's bad, Tina 337 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,440 Speaker 1: can't come up with the fact that it was. 338 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 4: A water bad, and so one of the questions that 339 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 4: arises about that is how did he come to know 340 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 4: things on day four that he didn't know on day one. 341 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: The interrogators take Tina on a field trip to Susan 342 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: Burdett's street so that he can point out details of 343 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: the crime to them in person, and they videotaped the 344 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: whole thing. 345 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 4: He started giving them directions that were taking them away 346 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 4: from her house, so though helpfully tried to direct him 347 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 4: back towards her house, it was pretty clear on tape 348 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 4: that he still had no idea where he was going 349 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 4: and wasn't able to identify anything familiar. In the end, 350 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 4: they took him to the outside of the house where 351 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 4: Susan had been raped murdered and asked him if he 352 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 4: recognized anything, and again he didn't, so the police officer 353 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:02,400 Speaker 4: and it's really chilling, really chilling to watch it. He said, Look, 354 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 4: it's clear you don't recognize what it is you're looking for. 355 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 4: So do you think it would help if I showed 356 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,679 Speaker 4: you house? And that's an extraordinary thing for a police 357 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 4: officer to do. 358 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 2: For Tim, that's it. This was a false confession. He 359 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 2: was motivated, fired up, and he would not rest until 360 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,920 Speaker 2: Tina Poora was cleared. But he needs to present more 361 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 2: evidence to the lawyers and other people he wants to 362 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 2: get involved in this case. 363 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 4: So Tana's case isn't one that was only scarred by 364 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 4: false confession. There were the other issues that were beginning 365 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 4: to arise with the involvement of Tana's family. 366 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 2: Tina's cousin became a key witness for the prosecution against Tina. 367 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 2: She claimed that she had seen Tina with Rewa on 368 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 2: multiple occasions, including once at Tina's girlfriend's home. 369 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: Tim was able to discredit Martha's testimony. 370 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 4: There was evidence of paid witnesses, including his cousin and 371 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 4: his auntie. Those family members gave evidence against him, and 372 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 4: we know that at least one of them was paid 373 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 4: five thousand dollars for her trouble. 374 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: Tim tracks down Fiona, Tina's girlfriend, and Fiona says that 375 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: she has no idea who Malcolm Rawell was and that 376 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: he was never in her home. From his time on 377 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: the police force, Tim was well acquainted with the various 378 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: gangs operating around South Auckland, so for him, one piece 379 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: of the prosecution's argument was clearly ridiculous. 380 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 4: Malcolm Rawa was a senior member of the Highway sixty 381 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 4: one motorcycle Club, Mortal Enemies of the Mongrel Mob and 382 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 4: Sotana Porter as somebody who was supposedly involved with the 383 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 4: Mungrel Mob. Going to Susan Burdette's house late one night 384 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 4: with a senior member of the Highway sixty one's to 385 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 4: commit a brutal rape and murder. Anybody that knows anything 386 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 4: about gang culture in New Zealand will tell you that 387 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 4: that's just nonsense. 388 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: Tim doesn't stop there. He also starts assembling an all 389 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: star team of experts, starting with an Icelandic professor and 390 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: former detective himself, Geisley good Johnson, who was a professor 391 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: by that time in London. Now. Geasley essentially created the 392 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: field of false confession science. He's the father of everything 393 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: we're talking about during this podcast, and after Tim sends 394 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: him Tanea's interrogation videos, Geezley agrees to write a report 395 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 1: deconstructing Tana's statements and deeming them unreliable. 396 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 2: Next, Tim enlists the help of respected local New Zealand 397 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 2: journalist named Phil Taylor. Phil had questioned the States case 398 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 2: against Tana for years and is happy to help, and 399 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 2: Phil delivers. In twenty twelve, as the case for Tana's 400 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:58,920 Speaker 2: innocence is building, Phil releases a bombshell article titled Innocent 401 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 2: Man in Jail for twenty Years, and in it Chuck Henwood, 402 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 2: the detective who had developed the original criminal profile of 403 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: Malcolm Rewa says the cops got it horribly wrong in 404 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 2: Susan Burdett's case. Tana had nothing to do with this. 405 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 2: Now this is a huge deal because Chuck Henwood is 406 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 2: the most famous criminal profiler in New Zealand, a bit 407 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 2: like John Douglas of the mind Hunter fame. 408 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 4: For somebody like Chuck Henwood come out and express a 409 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 4: firmly hell conviction that Tana Porter was innocent was hugely 410 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,719 Speaker 4: important in terms of public perception and momentum for our 411 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 4: appeal work on Tana's case. 412 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 2: And in the middle of this, there's this remarkable moment 413 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 2: when Susan Burdett's brother Jim comes forward and says, I 414 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 2: too believe that Tana Pora is innocent, and he actually 415 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:57,440 Speaker 2: meets with Tana Pora. It's this incredible moment of reconciliation 416 00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 2: and grace. 417 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: Momentum is building a across the board, but there's still 418 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,560 Speaker 1: one more piece. Can Tim provide a better understanding, a 419 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: better explanation of why Tana confessed to a crime he 420 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: didn't commit. 421 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 4: We had a documentary maker called Michael Bennett making a 422 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,919 Speaker 4: documentary about Tana's case. Perhaps the most significant development in 423 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 4: twenty years occurred because the person that had been watching 424 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 4: it was a woman called doctor Valerie McGinn. 425 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: Doctor McGinn provides Tim with the answer he needs. She 426 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,880 Speaker 1: writes report, saying, your clients, mister Tana Pora sounds very 427 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: similar to many people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She 428 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: even attaches a journal article that details how individuals with 429 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: FASD are at an increased risk of getting arrested. And 430 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,120 Speaker 1: more importantly, people. 431 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 4: That have it can be impulsive, they suggestible, they eager 432 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 4: to please figures of authority. And so when you look 433 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 4: at those types of behaviors and then you consider the 434 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,200 Speaker 4: position Taner was in when he was in the police 435 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 4: station in nineteen ninety three, it almost makes it inevitable 436 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 4: that he was going to confess to something. 437 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: Doctor mcginnon confirms categorically that Tena suffers from an FASD disorder, 438 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 1: he was uniquely susceptible to falsely confessing in the interrogation room. 439 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 4: One of the things that really bothered me about Tana's 440 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 4: case is we could never understand why he did what 441 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 4: he did, the things he said, and the people he implicated. 442 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 4: It just none of it made sense to us, and 443 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 4: we couldn't explain that to the courts, and so once 444 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 4: we got this diagnosis of feder Welck whole spectrum disorder, 445 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,879 Speaker 4: it all became clear. It was the final piece of 446 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 4: the puzzle and we finally understood what it was we 447 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:38,360 Speaker 4: were dealing with. 448 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: And that does it. All the pieces are assembled for 449 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: Tim and his team to appeal Tena's conviction and they 450 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 1: bring the case in November of twenty fourteen to the 451 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: Privy Council in London, the final Court of Appeal where 452 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: Commonwealth countries like New Zealand can bring cases like Tena's. 453 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 2: It's the court of last resort and it's staffed with 454 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,959 Speaker 2: senior judge some of the best and brightest minds in 455 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,360 Speaker 2: the entire Commonwealth. 456 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: Now this is Tana's last shot, and his lawyers put 457 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: his FASD disorder at the front of their case, arguing 458 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: that judges in the nineteen ninety four and two thousand 459 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: trials weren't aware of his disability and if they had been, 460 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: they would have ruled differently. 461 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 4: There was a big group of people that gathered at 462 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 4: Michael Bennett, the documentary maker's house, waiting for that decision 463 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 4: to be announced, and it was an extraordinary moment. We 464 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,159 Speaker 4: only got to tell Taneer about an hour before the 465 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,400 Speaker 4: whole world found out that he had his conviction quashed 466 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,159 Speaker 4: and he was no longer a rapist and murderer. It 467 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 4: was incredibly emotional for him. 468 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: On March third, twenty fifteen, in the case of poorra 469 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,520 Speaker 1: Versus the Queen, the Council of rules that Tina's confessions 470 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: must be thrown out, and they quashed his conviction for 471 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: the rape and murder of Susan Burdett. Two weeks later, 472 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: the Crown prosecutors dropped their case and declined to reap Tina, 473 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: and after more than twenty years, tana Pora was officially exonerated. 474 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,199 Speaker 4: You know what his first concern was for was for 475 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 4: the police officers that had interviewed him. He didn't want 476 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 4: their reputations to be tarnished because of what had happened. 477 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 4: One of his first thoughts was for other people, and 478 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:19,440 Speaker 4: that was that was pretty cool. 479 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: In so many of these wrongful conviction cases, you see 480 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,679 Speaker 1: people go through so much pain, and they have every 481 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 1: right to be bitter, resentful, angry, all of those things, 482 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: but so often you see them express, at least publicly, 483 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 1: these incredible acts of grace. It's almost as though they've 484 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: lived through so much pain they don't want to cause anymore. 485 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 2: In twenty sixteen, Tana received a sum of money to 486 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 2: compensate him for the time he had spent in prison 487 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 2: for a crime he did not commit. He also received 488 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 2: an apology from the New Zealand government. 489 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 4: Tana grew up in prison. He was there for twenty 490 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 4: two years and he struggles every day. We keep in contact, 491 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 4: but life isn't great for him. The money makes some 492 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 4: things easier, but it doesn't repair the psychological damage. It 493 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 4: doesn't bring the years back, and it doesn't make his 494 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 4: life easy now. It is incredibly difficult to watch him 495 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 4: struggle through life after everything he's been through. 496 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 1: Tana, we salute your sheer endurance, your will to keep 497 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: on fighting and surviving and living through this ordeal from 498 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: the other side of the planet. Know that we won't 499 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: forget your name or what you've been through, and all 500 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: of us together, we're fighting to make sure it doesn't 501 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: happen again. Wrongful Conviction, False Confessions is the production of 502 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: Lava for Good podcasts in association with Signal Company Number 503 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: one Special thanks to our executive producer Jason Flamm and 504 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: the team at Signal Company Number one executive producer Kevin 505 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: warda Senior producer and Pope, and additional production and editing 506 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: by Connor Hall. Our music was composed by Jay Ralph. 507 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter at Laura 508 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 1: Nyrider and you. 509 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 2: Can follow me on Twitter at s Drizzen. 510 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: For more information on the show, visit wrongfulconvictionpodcast dot com 511 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: and be sure to follow the show on Instagram at 512 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: Wrongful Conviction, on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast, and on 513 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:28,640 Speaker 1: Twitter at wrong Conviction