Belief the Police need more robust questioning - after revelations an Opotiki man served three years for a manslaughter, he didn't commit
Belief the Police need more robust questioning - after revelations an Opotiki man served three years for a manslaughter, he didn't commit
3 September 2025
A jury found 57-year-old Harry Matchitt guilty in 2021 - to killing Brian Hilton five years prior - based on a police interview.
But Matchitt's been found to have memory distrust syndrome - causing him to falsely confess.
His lawyer Steven Lack says if Police suggest a person is guilty, and they accept that could be true, it isn't fair questioning.
He says it's not necessarily free recall of what happened, and it's not necessarily reliable - which is what happened in this case.
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