David Bain says he was able to cope with the conviction for killing his entire family because his parents had raised him to be courageous and strong.
He makes the comment in his interview with TV3's 60 Minutes show, which airs tonight. Asked how he coped with the loss of his family, Bain says, "Thinking back over a lot of the circumstances I don't know how I got through them. I can only thank my upbringing, my family, my Mum and Dad [who] helped us with our education, with our upbringing, with university studies and helped us become the people we are. And somewhere in there I guess was the learned strength and courage that they both had."
Bain was convicted of murdering his parents, two sisters and brother in 1995, and served a 13-year jail sentence before he was found not guilty in a second trial held in 2009. However, Bain says his longtime friend supporter Joe Karam had more strength than he did.
"There was a friendship that was forged through that time that was a very strong bond that we created. He kept coming back to this thing that it's so wrong, something needs to be done about it," Bain says.
"I wish I had the fortitude that he had. I might have been able to cope a bit better. But I saw in him a chance and that helped me get through prison as well. "