When Prosecutors Lie
It was the crowns contention that every boat that was in the Furneaux Lodge area had been identified
CLICK HERE and find that this was not true
Secret Witnesses
To read about the "secret witnesses" and the way they were used to influence the trial
The Two Trip Theory
At the end of a three month trial and in the dying minutes of the prosecutions summing up to the jury, the police case against Scott Watson changed dramatically.
Scott Watson, the Sounds Murders and the Game of Law
On New Year"s Eve 1997, young holiday-makers Ben Smart and Olivia Hope dissapeared from a party at a seaside resort, last seen boarding a mystery yacht with a mystery man. Five months later 25 year old Scott Watson was arrested and later convicted of their murders. He is now serving a life sentence.
But is Watson guilty? Keith Hunter is one of the many who think not and in 2003 he produced an award-winning documentary that showed why. Now he goes further, revealing how the jury"s verdict was aquired. He lays bare the misinformation and manipulations of advocacy in the adversarial system of law, turning the tables on Scott Watson"s accusers to make them and the system itself the accused. Hunter asks"Is this justice, New Zealand style?"
Click Here to learn more and buy the book
In 1999 Scott Watson was convicted of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope following a New Years eve party at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds (New Zealand). Eye witnesses describe the person last seen with Ben and Olivia in the early hours of New Years day as a long haired "Mystery Man' with several days beard growth. The boat that they were last seen boarding was described by witnesses as a 40ft wooden ketch (two masted yacht) with high freeboard. When Scott was photographed earlier in the evening before going ashore, he had short hair and was obviously clean shaven. His yacht "Blade' is a 26ft steel sloop (single masted yacht) with very low freeboard.
These basic facts were swept under the carpet by the authorities by means of a multi-million dollar smear campaign. This included the use of secret witnesses who were rewarded in kind for their not so secret testimonies.
For a summary of the case against Scott Watson and the reasons many consider his conviction to be a miscarriage of justice:
FPT HEADS OF PROSECUTIONS
COMMITTEE
REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON THE PREVENTION OF MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE
The biggest and most expensive stuff up in New Zealand criminal history!
Click Here to read an interesting article written by Robert Lithgow that was published in the New Zealand Law Journal
North and South Article
Click on the below page links to read this very interesting article written by Mike White. A reporter who was working for the Marlborough Express at the time of the Operation Tam investigation.
