New Zealand appeals court rejects Christchurch mosque shooter's appeal
Al Jazeera Staff
New Zealand’s Court of Appeal on August 15 rejected an appeal by Brenton Tarrant, the gunman who killed 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks. The court deemed his attempt to overturn his guilty plea “entirely without merit,” after Tarrant argued that prison conditions had impaired his judgment.
New Zealand’s Court of Appeal on August 15 rejected the appeal of Brenton Tarrant, the gunman who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. The court ruled that his attempt to reverse his guilty plea was “entirely without merit.”
Tarrant, 35, admitted carrying out the shootings before being sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2020. He filed an appeal in February this year, arguing that “torturous and inhumane” prison conditions during his trial prevented him from making a rational decision when he pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of engaging in a terrorist act.
On March 15, 2019, Tarrant opened fire on Muslim worshippers at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch. He livestreamed the 17-minute attack and posted an online manifesto before unleashing a tragedy that targeted children, women, and the elderly.
According to the New Zealand newspaper The Post, a three-judge panel said in its ruling released on August 15 that it had investigated two lines of inquiry: Tarrant’s mental state at the time of his guilty plea and whether that plea was voluntary.
The judges stated: “We do not accept Mr Tarrant’s evidence about his mental state. There were inconsistencies within Mr Tarrant’s own account, and his account conflicted with the detailed observations of prison authorities and assessments of mental health professionals at the time of his plea.”
The court concluded that Tarrant’s plea was voluntary and that “he was not coerced or pressured in any way to plead guilty.” It added: “The evidence overwhelmingly shows that he was not suffering any substantial psychiatric impairment because of prison conditions at the time of his plea.”
Lawyers representing survivors and families of Tarrant’s victims told RNZ that the court’s decision was “a huge relief.” They said: “The families, and frankly all of us, will be spared the pain of reliving March 15 again in a court hearing. It’s a huge relief that the families’ difficult and often unsupported journey will not be further burdened by a new trial. It would have been unimaginably traumatic.”
