Arie Smith, you may go free.

Finally the penny drops and Arie goes free attended by the newest excuse that he needed to be assessed as to his ability to commit the devious crime of rescuing light bulbs from a damaged building. Taking them home to place on the mantle piece as a point of pride and discussion with his friends of how interesting they were and where among the gloom of a fallen city 2 young men had taken them, been arrested and thrown into prison.

Dave Cliff, acting Assistant Commissioner of Operations, explained that an independent report was required. Dave missed the bus. A whole lot of folk in this country didn't need an independent report to tell them that a looter doesn't steal things of no value from a damaged building owned by a couple who never complained, or were even told that they had been 'stolen.' Police on the ground are well equipped and capable of assessing criminal intention, guided by common sense and not hysteria, they could tell, like the rest of New Zealand, that Arie was a vulnerable and insightful member of our society.

Dave Cliff, can't think on his feet, when the country recognises a complaint is remedied the country doesn't need to be told that only an expert, (one that couldn't be found for 6 months,) could confirm what we all saw in this young man. Dave Cliff needed to remember what the ingredients of a crime are, intention being foremost, that a crime is committed and a victim recognised following that. But really Dave got the short stick, because those above him continue not to recognise that what resonates with the public is common sense and truth. If a bloke is limping he is limping, no one needs to be told that it couldn't be confirmed that he was limping for a particular reason until an expert assessed him because he might be limping for a reason that proved he wasn't limping at all. That it was an act.

Well, it has been quite an act, all explanations put aside an end is reached thanks to the Police withdrawing the charges against Arie and his partner Michael Davis. A shaking of hands has taken place, the ground has shifted, a country is empowered by that. The time for blame has passed. Arie said that his brain was wired differently and a whole country finally listened. Congratulations Arie and Michael, and the Police for stepping forward.

Arie Smith - the case lights up.

Apparently there were no complainants in this case, odd as that may sound. Perhaps looting doesn't require complainants in the normal sense. Before I go on, much is made of the burglar's tools Arie was alleged to have in his possession. In reality a burglary tool could be a simple as a screw driver, or pair of wire cutters, whatever the tools happened to be certainly wasn't enough to stop the Court asking the Police to exercise diversion. There seems an abundance of misguided information abroad such as that Arie wouldn't plead guilty or 'fess up,' in fact he did originally plead guilty and later asked for that plea to be vacated.

The couple whose unused building Arie entered were not informed until recently of the alleged burglary, and if what we saw on television last night is correct, had no concern for the return or custody of the particular light bulbs that Arie was impulsed to have. The man even pointing out that his concern was that it was unsafe to go inside the building. So it's a given that the victims of the crime don't consider themselves to be victims at all, and the police must have had a similar opinion because they hadn't bothered contacting them for months - and probably never would have.

After Police National Headquarters declined further comment last week about the case because it was still before the Court, the Chief Inspector of Christchurch began to comment at length about the case, most recently apparently declaring a criminal investigation into staff at TVNZ who reported on the case. That could prove very interesting because the case has been commented on at some considerable length by both sides until the police HQ apparently shut up shop on doing so, shortly after which the area Commander of Christchurch began.

Interesting to note that before the arrest of the ex partner of Carmen Thomas for her murder the police gave details of her body being dismembered, information which really didn't need to go into the public forum before a Judge made a decision on the matter, and can only therefore be assumed to have been entered for the prejudice effect of the public against the now accused man. I suppose it really is a question of how much the public need to know before the case goes to Court. A plea for information is understandable but when a case begins to get built publicly against an individual in the public arena someone has stepped over the line.

Of course all of this pre-empts was will happen on line where trials and misinformation by internet users will abound, including some might argue by bloggers such as myself. On that point as much as the opportunity is there, and while I'm unaware of any association of bloggers or an identified protocol or ethics committee, I personally recognise the need for accuracy in what claims are made. However, on message boards there is no or little restraint. Though it can be said that lack of restraint extends to both media and police pr machines. Is it Justice, I don't think so.

On the issue of blogs it would be timely for an association and standards to be set, much like the traditional print media because my belief is that an appreciation is growing that 'talking' in cyberspace is not different to publishing on paper. But really, why have the big guys the media companies who have hundreds of years of history in publishing in some cases, not leading the protocol standard - the answer can only be that they don't want to be lagging on the new wave of information. If that's a sufficient reason, then the test remains is it prejudicial, sub-judice even contempt of court in such cases, and if it is why are the Governments, Courts or Government agencies apparently so slow reacting.

In effect Arie has been tried in the media, by the police on one hand, and by an interested media on the other - something which has led to a standoff. What should either of these groups do when faced with the question of wresting trials away from the Courts before they are even tried. Only one thing in my opinion, go to the Courts for injunctions and directions as necessary. This is a fairly exhaustive subject which I'll leave for now, but first some comment on Arie.

Hard to build a picture of somebody from news snippets and a photo, so I guess having stuck my neck out a little on the subject of Arie I can admit, although I didn't expect would be the case, I was going to have to cop it on the chin and acknowledge so if I was wrong. It never hurts to be wrong, well not deliberately, but it's critical, if not always easy - to admit when you are.

But Arie came across just as I and I guess thousands of others has been pressure on him to admit, if he knows, how he got that severe bruise and damage to his eye, but he was quite honest in his description for my money - but more importantly, almost naively not wishing to use the injury in anyway for sympathy or anything else. Though we didn't get to hear him scream, his descriptions of how he freaked out were more vivid and simple in impact that any scream one might hear. His talk about best friends, and seeing his eyes light up when going to apologise to the couple and when talking about his hopes of being an electrician one day, and how important courses were told more about him than he could ever hide.

Now that I know TV1 are under investigation, maybe I shouldn't have written those poems.

Arie Smith, the self-rightous in full flight.

This from another site...

I'd also suggest that as his lawyer who also suffers from aspergers was in fact able to become a lawyer and function as a lawyer that such a condition is not necessarily any barrier to participation in society, including abiding by rules and laws and it certainly shouldn't be used as a blanket protection from the consequences of any wrongdoing.

Edited by nicky59 at 9:28 am, Fri 8 Jul

The above was from another self-righteous bigot but it shows an interesting mindset, one that might be troubling other dimwits like nicky. This fully functioning and outraged member of society, argues that because one of Arie's lawyers is also a sufferer of aspergers, who 'was in fact able' to become a lawyer, then Arie must be guilty. Well whoopee do, we now all know that every sufferer of aspergers or any similar condition is exactly the same as any other sufferer of the condition, there are no variations in the condition either by extent or exhibiting factors. We can take heart then that every 'normal' member of society is the same as all others, in fact a carbon copy with all the same characteristics and able to reach the same achievements as one another, and likewise it would follow that all 'normal' members of society are equal in their ability to appreciate the arguments and logic of those like Nicky and reach the same moronic precipice that Nicky has reached in being divine and all-seeing. What a pleasure to know I'm just like Nicky, fully capable of understanding, that there is no variations in life, no individual characteristics, we are all the same by Nicky's inspired vision..except, well except me.

Police Headquarters seems to want a pound of flesh from Arie Smith,

even though he has a disability that compels him to take light fixtures, head office wouldn't agree to diversion despite it being requested twice already and on this occasion referred by Judge John Strettell. Police were reported as having earlier said that diversion was not going to be offered because of the seriousness of the case, and the public interest in it.

Somebody is not reading this case properly, this case isn't serious but for the reason that police haven't acted decisively in recognising Arie's condition. Even the building's owners were 'astonished and extremely concerned that someone had been prosecuted for the burglary.' If that's correct even the victims of the crime are concerned that Arie is being prosecuted. I might need reminding of something, but I thought burglars stole for profit, to benefit themselves with someone elses money or goods - but it only seems that Arie wanted to rescue the light fittings for the symbolism of meaning to him, and we might never know how the impact of the earthquakes affected that. Arie isn't a burglar, he has no convictions. He's somebody who will keenly help out others with part of him still child-like. Judge John Strettell recognised at least that, and probably, more from his lawyer's point of view, that its unlikely able to be proved that Arlie had the necessary ingredient, mens rea, a guilty mind.

Let him go, don't make a disabled young man unable to resist rescuing lights, saving them or whatever, a serious case of public interest, we have enough of those that clearly fit the criteria

Arlie Smith,

they let him go, to wish a light from a bulb or switch.
One to keep him going
and put the lights on when the ground is shaking,
like that other thing, counting and touching his knee,
remembering,
a thing of light bulbs and switches
but not for fun
unless you were laughing
laughing at what
the light bulb and touching
where the wires join up

Christchurch don't grow cold.

Don't see the punished boy,
who stole light fittings and switches
in the night, where you are frightened
that thieves do take.

Don't punish the boy who looks for light,
to understand and hold what might make
him whole in the quake his life has
never stopped.

The boy in disaster of a
broken mind that a switch might connect
and give him rest, from searching
for the place his tremor stops.

See if you can sense his spirit trapped
behind a blackened eye and vacant look,
bring him to carry the water buckets
and shovel the silt, and excitedly talk with you while
eating sausages on bread with too much sauce for one.

Soon he could be like you,
his light found in your love.
To stand with you and rebuild the town struck down,
the Christchurch town,
don't grow cold.