After more than 20 years in prison, Teina Pora is a free man today after the Privy Council quashed his conviction for the murder of Susan Burdett.
As the law lords were about to deliver their judgement, Mr Pora's closest supporters gathered at a house in a quiet street in Auckland's Grey Lynn to hear the announcement.
Among those present was Mr Pora's pastor, who has guided him in recent years, and his minder Winnie, who fulfils the maternal role after Mr Pora's mother died when he was a toddler.
For so many years Mr Pora was denied a family – he has a 24-year-old daughter and a grandson, whose birth he missed while he was in prison.
Although Mr Pora is now a free man, he still can't talk to media in case there's a retrial. But his lawyer, Jonathan Krebs, told 3rd Degree Mr Pora is "doing really well".
"He's had the benefit of parole, he's living with lovely folk.
"He's done some study, got his licence a couple of weeks ago, he's in very good shape. He's made some friends, surrounded himself with a very positive support from different sectors of the community, surprising sectors of the community, and he's in a really good position to take his life forward in a really positive way."
Lawyers have four weeks to make submissions on a decision that will dictate the future of Mr Pora's life.
Read more
- Pora 'probably the happiest man in the country' – lawyer
- Pora's convictions quashed by Privy Council
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source: newshub archive
