The lawyer of Opotiki man Harry Matchitt is shedding light on how the courts came to learn he falsely confessed to the 2016 killing of Brian Hilton

The 57-year-old served more than three years for manslaughter - after a jury found him guilty in 2021, based on a police interview.

His conviction's now quashed - with experts finding he has memory distrust syndrome.

Lawyer Steven Lack says Matchitt couldn't freely recall anything.

He says his own vulnerabilities led to him accepting the proposition he could have assaulted Hilton, when that wasn't the case.