The witch-hunt against Allan Titford?

The witch-hunt against Allan Titford?

At last, thanks to Mike Butler and Tross Publishing, some justice for a man who has basically been framed?

As a socio-political commentator at the time, I recall being increasingly concerned at what looked very like a loaded gun, metaphorically speaking, which had been pointed at Allan Titford.  I was horrified at the charges that had been levelled against him on the flimsiest of evidence – much of it based on accusations which simply should not have carried weight in a genuine court of justice.

Equally shockingly has been the utterly undemocratic, and indeed arguably corrupted,  processes under which The Waitangi Tribunal has  been allowed to operate. Much of this is detailed in my book –”The 100 days – Claiming back New Zealand -what has gone wrong and how we can control our politicians.”

 Flawed from its inception, the tribunal has been granted far more respect than it deserves, and, biased in its findings, it has basically brought itself into disrepute.  That our political parties have given far too much credence to its findings, and that there is even provision for its findings to be binding on government is completely unacceptable.

So is what has happened to Allan Titford, with an almost unbelievable sentence of 24 years of imprisonment! More than for committing murder….Utterly incredible…

That this whole saga is an indictment on our justice system is an understatement. It is more than time for these issues to be addressed. And it is time our government fronted up.

Mike Butler explains how corrupt our justice system has become.

24 YEARS

The trials of Allan Titford

In 1987 Allan Titford was being driven off his farm by people who claimed that part of it was Maori land. His story captured the hearts and minds of many New Zealanders.

However, in 2013, when he was jailed for more than 24 years, he was called “a slave driver, a monster and a liar”.

This book tells how a treaty claim took private land against the will of its owners despite evidence that the claim was unjustified.

It analyses how Allan Titford was jailed for such a long time.

The record jail term is bizarre considering that 12 charges relied on the uncorroborated testimony of a person who admitted to perjury.

Moreover, many of the 53 charges against him were hardly tested in court.

It also shows a hidden parallel story about how the justice system was played for financial gain.

This book exposes judicial failure in both the district court and the Court of Appeal.

It asks whether the process used against Allan Titford is standard practice in the New Zealand justice system and how many more victims have been locked up by using these methods.

See the video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uQamj01Paw

Ross Baker, Researcher, One New Zealand Foundation Inc, wrote:

“I have just finished reading 24 Years and as I have been very involved with Allan and Susan Titford since the “false” claim was place on Allan’s freehold titled property at Maunganui Bluff, I can confirm this is a true and accurate accounts of the events that ended with Allan being jailed for 24 years because of our corrupt justice system. A must read”.

24 Years, The Trials of Allan Titford,  Mike Butler, Limestone Bluff Publishing, 339 pages, illustrated, $39.50, available from www.trosspublishing.co.nz and at a good bookstore near you.