Karla Cardno's stepfather, who is charged with threatening to kill her murderer, should not be punished for mourning the loss of the Lower Hutt teenager, says his lawyer.
In his closing address in the Auckland District Court yesterday, Keith Jefferies told the jury that the accused, Mark Middleton, had made threats as a result of his grief and in response to feelings of powerlessness and frustration about Paul Dally's possible release.
"The loss has been huge and it goes on till this present day. He shouldn't be punished for that loss," Mr Jefferies said.
Middleton, aged 44, has stood trial before Judge Michael Lance, QC, this week on five charges of threatening to kill.
The charges follow comments he made to journalists in August and September 1999 that he would crucify Dally, who is serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder, if the killer were ever released from prison.
Dally became eligible for parole in September 1999 but the Parole Board has twice refused to release him.
In his address to the jury, Judge Lance said: "It's not about whether our justice system needs remodelling or revamping. It's not about issues relating to the Parole Board. It's not about whether you individually or collectively may be sympathetic to the views that Mr Middleton apparently holds. They are all emotional or political views and are irrelevant."
Mr Jefferies yesterday urged the jurors to put themselves in Middleton's shoes.
"You imagine how you would feel or how you would cope if that had happened to the child you loved or knew."
Mr Jefferies said this case did not justify the intervention of criminal law and none of the threats had been made directly to Dally.
He also criticised the media, saying they had been irresponsible in encouraging Middleton to break the law by uttering the threats during interviews.
In reality, Middleton's threats should not have been taken seriously, as his graphic description of wanting to nail Dally upside down to a tree and "cut off his balls and shove them down his throat" was mere fantasy, Mr Jefferies said.
The number of unsolved murders, Christchurch man Norm Withers' petition seeking tougher sentences and the increasing amount of violence in NZ society were also mentioned as contributing to the context in which the threats were made.
"Mr Middleton, using the words he has, could well be expressing his frustration at the system," Mr Jefferies said.
"The words are a formal complaint, a message to the authorities to protect us all."
But crown prosecutor Andrew Cameron reminded the jury that the reasons behind Middleton's threats were irrelevant.
No one forced him to speak to the media or told him what to say.
In addition, the "righteous anger" that Middleton told police he felt was no defence, nor was moral justification.
"I'm not standing here in this courtroom for the Crown to defend the system, to suggest that it's perfect. That's a political issue," Mr Cameron said.
"I'm here to defend our collective right to have our system and for all of us to be treated equally before it.
"This case is not about whether any of us don't feel sympathy for what has happened. Of course we do. But no person is above the law in our country."
The jury retired to consider its verdict at 1 pm yesterday and will continue its deliberations today.
Stepfather's loss huge and ongoing, jury told
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.