Attorney-General Chris Finlayson took the unusual step on Monday of explaining the Crown's decision to reduce the charge for the killing of Moko Rangitoheriri from murder to manslaughter. Underlying the criticism of the charge brought in this case is a wider concern about the arrival of plea bargaining in our justice system. There was a "significant risk", he said, that without guilty pleas and admitted facts, the pair could have escaped convictions. Mr Finlayson declared, "The cost of prosecuting this trial was not a factor taken into account in approving the manslaughter charge," and he added categorically, "Nor is plea bargaining a feature of the New Zealand justice system." Courts are overloaded with cases awaiting trial, he says, and prosecutors know the only way to manage the load is to reduce some charges in exchange for a guilty plea.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 29, 2016 17:03 UTC