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David Bain Campaign

$12,035 donated
Given by 86 generous donors in around 11 months

Enabling Kiwis to give David Bain a 'fair go' - recognition for miscarriage of justice, and compensation for the 13 years he spent in prison

Wellington

David Bain was convicted of murdering his entire family in 1995. In 2007, the Privy Council declared he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice and said he should be retried. The retrial took place in 2009 and David was found 'NOT GUILTY'.

He applied for compensation for the 13 years he spent in prison after being wrongfully convicted. Highly respected Canadian judge, Ian Binnie, was appointed to examine his claim. After a 12 month investigation, Judge Binnie concluded:

“IT IS MORE LIKELY THAN NOT THAT DAVID BAIN IS FACTUALLY INNOCENT... Having regard to the terms of the Cabinet’s ‘extraordinary circumstances discretion’ set out in the Minister’s letter to me of November 10, 2011, it is my opinion that the egregious errors of the Dunedin Police that led directly to the wrongful conviction make it in the interest of justice that compensation be paid.”

Judith Collins requested a peer review of the report and rejected Binnie’s findings. The Government subsequently appointed retired Australian judge, IAN CALLINAN, to conduct a second review. Judge Callinan's conclusions were leaked to the media. On 18 February, the NZ Herald reported:

"A confidential report by a senior judge found he did not meet the threshold of 'innocent beyond reasonable doubt' - the benchmark for 'extraordinary circumstances' required for compensation under previous guidelines." On 2 August, Justice Minister Amy Adams confirmed this is what the judge's report said and announced the Government would not be paying David any compensation and would not give him an apology.

Commenting on the outcome, Stuff political reporter, Tracy Watkins, wrote: "When it discarded the Binnie report, the process looked tainted, like Cabinet was shopping around for a predetermined outcome."

In order to cover David's legal fees in the last six years and deter his legal team from pursuing further legal action, Cabinet offered David $925,000. David and his team agreed.

THIS WEBSITE ENABLES KIWIS LIKE YOU AND ME TO DO WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE DONE YEARS AGO - GIVE DAVID A FAIR GO - AND SOME FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FOR THOSE WASTED YEARS IN PRISON.

As the saying goes: 'It's the putting right that counts'.

For more information on every aspect of this case, go to: www.davidbaindonate.nz

David Bain Compensation Trust's involvement (page creator)

This page was created by Roger Brooking (see www.brookingblog.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm an alcohol & drug counsellor in Wellington - with a passion for justice and fair play. Since the Government is unwilling to give David compensation, I have set up the David Bain Compensation Trust and opened a bank account in his name, linked to this Givealittle page. There are three trustees, two of whom are lawyers. Two signatures are required to withdraw funds for David. I am not one of the Trustees - I just set up the Trust. Whatever is in the account will be given to David as the campaign unfolds........................... For more information, go to: www.davidbaindonate.nz

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Latest update

Goal change  16 August 2016

After Judge Binnie recommended that David Bain should receive compensation, opinion polls showed that 60 to 70% of New Zealanders supported that conclusion. David recently received $925,000 on the condition that he agreed not to pursue further legal action. The government made it clear that this was not to be seen as compensation.

However, the public seems to believe David has been compensated and my hope that we might have raised $1 million for him now looks overly optimistic. With this in mind, I have decided to remove a fixed goal and make it an 'open' one.

Roger Brooking

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Latest donations

Robert
Robert on 26 Oct 2016
Private
True believer
True believer on 03 Oct 2016
Geez, Among many others John Key and Amy Adams should be forking out...
$45
Robyn
Robyn on 20 Sep 2016
Have always believed you are innocent.
Private
Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 14 Sep 2016
Injustice in the courts abounds but injustice to David Bain topos the lot!
$20
Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 11 Sep 2016
Gotta do something. Good luck David - you are an innocent man...
Private

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David Bain Compensation Trust's avatar
Created by, and paying to a verified bank account of, David Bain Compensation Trust (Group)
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This campaign started on 22 Jan 2016 and ended on 1 Jan 2017.