Father glad Watson no stranger to prison life

WELLINGTON - Chris Watson, the father of convicted double-murderer Scott Watson, is glad his son spent time in prison, saying it prepared him for his recent experience.

"I'm very glad that he had been to prison. We've got friends who, if their children had been plucked off the street like this, they would have broken long since," Mr Watson told National Radio.

"Because he's had this experience, it's made him able to cope," he said.

Mr Watson said his son's previous prison term had been like an apprenticeship.

"I think he has supported us as much [as] we've supported him at times."

Mr Watson and his wife, Bev, saw their son on Sunday and his reaction to the guilty verdict was that they must keep fighting.

Watson, aged 28, was convicted on Saturday by a jury in the High Court at Wellington for the murders of Blenheim friends Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. The jury deliberated for 22 hours over three days after a 13-week trial.

Mr Watson joined defence lawyer Bruce Davidson in criticising media coverage of his son's background and previous convictions.

Mr Davidson said media coverage following the verdict was disgraceful and ill-considered.

"The media coverage over the last few days is just amazing. It almost seems to be an orchestrated campaign to get as much dirt in as possible before an appeal is filed."

Mr Watson said he had no idea what happened to Olivia Hope and Ben Smart. Last Saturday, Olivia Hope's father, Gerald Hope, called on the Watson family to come forward with any information about the whereabouts of the bodies.

Mr Watson said he had no problem with the way the defence case was conducted, although there were times when he thought certain things should or should not have been said.

He said he did not feel as though people had treated his family like criminals.

"The support from the community has been amazing. I think there is support there for Scott as well, the people that know him."

He accepted an expression of sympathy and respect extended to him and his wife by Mr Hope and said that although they felt sympathy for the victims' families, the Watsons and their son were bystanders in the case. - NZPA