escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Archived Press Releases 2005 1st April 2005

Justice Campaigners bury the hatchet for Super Athlete

(1st April 2005)

What started as a dispute over a bull has ended up with one of New Zealand’s finest athletes being found guilty of the manslaughter of his uncle.

Paul Kingi was not your average athlete, he was one of the best kickboxers in the World and would-be world wrestling champion, but all that came to a sudden violent end on 6th January 2004 when Kingi was called in to a family dispute between his father and his uncle.

Kingi is now in jail awaiting sentence next Thursday, but two unlikely allies have joined forces to ensure the real truth of what happened that day is made public.

Kingi was found guilty last month for the manslaughter of his uncle, Wananga Kingi, and he will be sentenced in the Palmerston North Court next Thursday, but two unlikely allies well known for previous justice campaigns believe Kingi is not guilty.

In fact they say the reason they have teamed up is to expose the real truth of what happened on the Kingi farm that fateful day fourteen months ago.

Justice Campaigner Dermot Nottingham and Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar had a bitter fall out over the police shooting of Steven Wallace in Waitara. They have now agreed to bury the hatchet and join forces in their fight to have Kingi’s conviction overturned.

Nottingham and McVicar say they believe perjury was committed by Crown witnesses and the jury was duped.

We know these are serious allegations Mr Nottingham said, "but we have made extensive enquiries and have hard evidence to support the allegations, but we will take a "wait and see" approach until Kingi’s sentencing on Thursday."

Mr McVicar said he was convinced that it would be a serious miscarriage of Justice and a sad day for our Jury and Court system if Paul Kingi received a jail sentence for what was in reality no more than self defence.

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.