Author: Renju Jose
Feb 9 (Reuters) – A white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshipers at two New Zealand mosques seven years ago said on Monday he was irrational when he pleaded guilty, local media reported, as he sought to overturn his conviction in a New Zealand court.
Brenton Tarrant, 35, appeared in a Wellington court via video link and is seeking to appeal his guilty plea.
Tarrant, an Australian national, opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers in March 2019 in the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history. He issued a racist manifesto shortly before the attack, used a military-style semiautomatic weapon and live-streamed the killing on Facebook using a head-mounted camera.
Tarrant initially denied all charges and was set to stand trial following the attack, but a year later pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.
Tarrant told the court that harsh prison conditions had worsened his mental health while awaiting trial and that he was largely unfit to plead guilty, the New Zealand Herald reported.
“I didn’t have the mental framework or mental health to make an informed decision at the time,” Tarrant said.
“I think the question is, do I actually know what I want to do or what is a good idea? No, I don’t actually know…I’m making choices, but they’re not choices made voluntarily or rationally because of the (prison) conditions.”
Tarrant’s attorney, whose name and identity is being withheld under court order, could not be reached for comment.
A court filing said the appeals court will examine whether Tarrant was “incapable of making rational decisions due to what he said were torture and inhumane conditions of imprisonment” when he pleaded guilty.
He is serving a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time a New Zealand court has sentenced a person to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The five-day appeal hearing is expected to end on Friday.
If the Court of Appeal refuses to grant an application to withdraw his guilty plea, an appeal against his sentence will be considered at a hearing later this year. If the appeal is accepted, the case will be sent back to the High Court for Tarrant to face trial on the charges.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)