Trial aftermath reduces faith in Bain's innocence

Reports of jury misbehaviour and of evidence suppressed and not presented in court appears to have eroded support among New Zealanders who believe David Bain is not guilty of murdering his family.

A survey by UMR Research found the number of New Zealanders who believed David Bain was not guilty had dropped sharply in the fortnight since his retrial.

In the poll conducted from June 4-7, around the date of his acquittal on June 5, 62 per cent of respondents thought Bain was not guilty, with 23 per cent believing he was guilty and 15 per cent unsure.

In the most recent survey, taken June 18-22, 47 per cent of respondents believed he was not guilty - a drop of 15 per cent - while 29 per cent thought he was guilty and 24 per cent were unsure.

UMR Research attributed the drop in the number of respondents who believed Bain was not guilty to media stories highlighting the attendance of some jurors at a Bain victory party and publicity about previously suppressed evidence.

Of the 47 per cent who believed Bain was not guilty, 79 per cent thought he should receive about $1.5 million compensation for 13 years in jail, 15 per cent said he shouldn't receive that amount of compensation and 6 per cent were unsure.

UMR had asked survey respondents about the case in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and twice in June 2009.

The latest survey questioned 750 people and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, Bain supporter Joe Karam will write a new book on the Bain retrial and its aftermath, HarperCollins Publishers said yesterday.

The as-yet untitled book would be Karam's fourth on the subject and would be published in September.

HarperCollins managing director Tony Fisk said the publisher "was delighted to be involved in documenting and analysing the extraordinary events" of the Bain case.

- NZPA