Report on Alan Hall wrongful conviction due tomorrow, but may not be released

Wednesday, 16 November 2022

Alan Hall, who was convicted of murdering Arthur Easton, spent 19 years in jail for the crime. His conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court. Stuff followed Alan and his family during the process. (First published in June 2022)

A report on Alan Hall’s wrongful conviction is due tomorrow, but Solicitor-General Una Jagose hasn’t decided whether she will release it publicly.

Hall was convicted of murdering Auckland father-of-five Arthur Easton in 1985.

Despite repeated appeals, and evidence indicating he was innocent, Hall spent 19 years in prison.

In June, the Supreme Court quashed Hall’s conviction, citing police deliberately altering a crucial eyewitness’s evidence, the prosecution concealing witness statements, and Hall, who has an intellectual disability, being unfairly interviewed by police.

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Alan Hall at Parliament in June 2022, the day before the Supreme Court quashed his murder conviction.

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The Solicitor-General, who is the head of Crown Law, which oversees all criminal prosecutions in New Zealand, immediately appointed Wellington barrister Nicolette Levy, KC, to review the Crown’s involvement in Hall’s case.

“I am determined to find out why and how Mr Hall, Mr Easton, and both their families have been so severely let down by the justice system,” Jagose stated at the time.

“My focus now is on understanding how the Crown’s role in this miscarriage occurred and why the criminal justice system failed to remedy it earlier.”

Jagose also stressed the need for the public to have trust and confidence in the justice system.

Alan Hall, centre, with brothers Greg, left, and Geoff. The Hall family has steadfastly supported Alan for 37 years, in their attempts to prove his innocence.

“Mr Hall, Mr Easton’s family, and the public need to understand the factors that led to this miscarriage.”

However, the Solicitor-General is now not committing to releasing Levy’s report, which is due to be delivered on Thursday, saying she will decide whether to make it available to Hall, the Eastons, and the public, after reading it.

As well as considering the role Crown lawyers may have had in the doctoring and hiding of evidence at Hall’s trial, Levy was asked to look at the actions of Crown Law staff once this evidence came to light.

In June, Stuff revealed that Crown Law was made aware of the problems with Hall’s case in 2018, but did nothing.

Journalist Mike Wesley-Smith approached Crown Law again in 2020 with information about evidence tampering, but was rebuffed, with Crown Law claiming it could not look at the case.

Throughout this time, Hall remained in prison.

Alan Hall was 23 when he became the lead suspect in the 1985 murder of Arthur Easton. He was sentenced to life in prison, and served a total of 19 years behind bars.

Alan Hall’s brother Geoff Hall said the family absolutely wanted to see Levy’s report.

“Alan has a right to know what happened to him – that’s part of the healing process.”

He also insisted the report must be released to the public.

“It really does need to go out to everybody and for it to be totally transparent.

“It’s important for the public to feel confident in Crown Law, and for them to take ownership of things that have happened. And you can only really do that when you open the books right up.”

If the report wasn’t released, the public would assume something was being hidden or covered up, he said.

However, Geoff Hall said since January, when the Supreme Court appeal began, Crown Law had acted swiftly and appropriately to help overturn his brother’s conviction, and he had confidence in the Solicitor-General and senior counsel at Crown Law dealing with the case.

Levy’s review is one of five investigations into Hall’s wrongful conviction.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority is reviewing the case and due to meet with Hall this month.

Alan Hall has also applied for compensation for the years he spent in prison, with his claim currently being assessed by retired judge Rodney Hansen, KC.

And police are carrying out two inquiries into what happened.

One will review the original investigation and what avenues of reinvestigation remain.

A separate investigation by Acting Detective Superintendent Graham Pitkethley will look into the circumstances around failures to disclose evidence.

Geoff Hall said the family just wanted the police to be open, for the truth to come out, and people to be held accountable.

“This inquiry is crucial for us as New Zealanders to see, well, are police going to take this seriously?”