Gail Maney Imprisoned for not Lying?
Found the time to listen to the Pod Cast ‘Gone Fishing,’ all 8 parts – available from Radio New Zealand and put together by Amy Mass and Adam Dudding. Certainly, is a comprehensive Pod Cast if not completely searching.
Much to my surprise it wasn’t Gail’s situation and the role she was meant to have played in the death of Deane Fuller-Sandys that was the surprise, but the role of Stephen Stone. This was mainly the result of the complete doubt that Maney is guilty. Because the Crown case relies on the death of Deane in the garage of the home where Maney was living using very questionable witnesses (who told multiple stories), and the lack of hard evidence as to whether Gail had even met Stone before the death of Deane. Then there is evidence which always sounded like complete nonsense for a so called ‘hit.’ Stone showing off the body in a boot, also ‘forcing’ others at the scene to shoot Deane. Those aspects of the case are the fantasies of a mad man, we meet him a little later and his name is Franklin – the OIC of the inquiry.
Add to that, considering that Gail is meant to have ordered the ‘hit’, there is nary a word about how he was paid. No disrespect to Gail but people such as Stone described to be - very macho and dangerous tend to do their own thing and are not likely to be robotic, let alone ‘advertise’ their work. As with a lot of these sensational stories relying on shock and horror the little details do not line up or have the ring of reality to them. There are now also retractions from 3 of 4 of the main witnesses.
When the Court of Appeal (COA) dealt with the first of those from a woman name Tania Wilson, it said that she was an “unreliable witness”, which even in itself is something for a Jury – not the COA. The COA seem unable to consider at its worst Wilson admitted lying and at its best – exonerated Gail – in fact either version could result in a fresh jury finding Gail innocent. Our COA have a terrible record in terms of Miscarriages of Justice – off hand I can’t think of any of the major ones which the COA has overturned.
I think it is reasonable to doubt whether Deane was killed at all because of the lack of solid evidence and the unrealistic narrative of the key witnesses, none of whom gave a single narrative but rather keep changing what they had to say until Franklin felt he had put together a ‘complex’ case.
So, if I understand it correctly – if Stone did not kill Dean, then not only is Gail innocent but so must Stone be on the same evidence. There is an absolute dearth of evidence on 1 aspect of the case which was not dealt with in the Pod Casts or in the media that I have been able to find – which could be critical to Stone’s claim of innocence also for the death of Leah Stephens the 2nd person he was convicted of murdering.
This started off as a blog on the ridiculousness I saw in the police first going to Gail for help, and when she chose not to speak ended up being charged with murder. The ex-cop in charge of the case Franklin is forthright as to his opinion that if Gail had told police what they wanted to hear she would not have been charged, just like the 2 men who gave evidence (under immunity) and admitted raping and killing Leah as well as taking part in the shooting of Deane. I was unable to find it, but I seem to remember an Auckland police man named Franklin who was responsible for 3 Tongan girls going to prison for a robbery for which they were later cleared. Someone might know if it one and the same man?
Anyway, after that start on a narrow point of how police first tried to lure Gail as a witness only to later charge her with murder - the full ‘blast’ of the dangerousness and ridiculousness of the case against Gail became front and centre way beyond the simple but telling point – that Gail could have sung for her supper. Franklin putting together that scenario, that if she ‘gave the order’ (seems so stupid to repeat that nonsense) but didn’t believe Stone would do it, in other words prove the case against Stone – she would not have been in the dock.
How Franklin dealt with Maney was the same way he dealt with 2 men who admitted murder and didn’t spend a day in prison – but he seems not to comprehend the gravity of that talking on and on about the care he took and so on. Justice? No way.
