Shaneel Lal: Discharge without conviction tells anti-Semitic and anti-queer people hate crimes are okay

Greymouth's famous Pink Church, home of artist Sam Duckor-Jones, was targeted by four men who attacked it with anti-Semitic and homophobic graffiti. Photo: supplied

Dillan Jay Pattinson and Zacharaiah David Burges-Short were discharged without conviction by Judge Quentin Hix for an anti-Semitic and anti-queer attack on Gloria, a pink church of queer celebration in Greymouth. The men were charged with intentional damage.

On June 2, Sam Duckor-Jones, owner of Gloria, woke up to his home vandalised with anti-Semitic and anti-queer symbols and statements, including a burnt rainbow pride flag in the entranceway. It was commonly known that Duckor-Jones was a part of the LGBTQI+ and Jewish communities.

Pattinson wrote “dancing Israelis” and drew a Star of David underneath the statement on Gloria. The Nazis used a yellow Star of David during the Holocaust to mark Jewish people.

Burges-Short wrote “House of God not of Gay” on the side of the building.

Another man, who has not been and will likely never be charged, wrote anti-Semitic phrases and a Bible reference that condemned queer people to death. He is based in Wellington, and police prosecutor Graeme Eden said that “Wellington don’t think it’s worthy” to locate and prosecute him.

Burges-Short turned himself into the police, and Pattinson pleaded guilty to intentional damage to Gloria. However, Judge Hix decided not to convict them. The police did not oppose the discharge without conviction and are not appealing the verdict. I am frustrated by how easy it appears to be for Pākehā men to get away with traumatising vulnerable communities.

Judge Hix noted that young men’s brains were not developed till 25 when they could control their impulses. This was not an impulsive attack. Judge Hix held the attack was a premeditated hate crime. The summary of facts alleged that these men planned and prepared their attack for weeks before executing their hate crime. In my view, saying they were not in control of their actions and acting impulsively for weeks to explain their objectionable behaviour is a slap in the face of Jewish and queer communities.

Judge Hix said he took into account the consequences of a conviction on the employment prospects of these men. These men escape criminal liability and a criminal record. There have been harsher convictions and sentences for those who use cannabis and do no harm than for the men who premeditated an anti-Semitic and anti-queer attack for weeks and acted on it, leaving a community feeling afraid and vulnerable. Who will address the consequences of these men’s actions on the Jewish and queer communities?

The judge said the men wrote apology letters to Duckor-Jones, which Duckor-Jones says he did not receive till after the discharge without conviction. The judge noted that Burges-Short made a $500 donation to a charity of Duckor-Jones’ choice and ordered Pattinson to pay $500 emotional harm reparation. Duckor-Jones says he was not asked for a charity of his choice and has received no correspondence about a payment from Pattinson.

Duckor-Jones isn’t after a payment. The attack left him feeling shaken and vulnerable and the judgment distressed and dismayed.

Duckor-Jones told me, “The history of violence against Jewish people and queer people is long and rotten. When it rears its ugly head, it must be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly, with the weight and care it requires. Dismissal only clears the path for more violence to occur.”

I believe that this judgment risks sending anti-Semitic and anti-queer people a message that their hate crimes are without consequences and will embolden them to continue their attacks. It is often said the criminal justice system acts as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff for victims, but it seems to me that judges are reforming the criminal justice system to serve as the baton at the bottom of the cliff in some cases.

I love when Pākehā men are held accountable. I have never loved. The criminal justice system seems to be a white boys’ club.

Shaneel Shavneel Lal (they/them) was instrumental in the bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. They are a law and psychology student, model and influencer.