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A Year on Remand in the Mount - Michael's Story

Michael lived happily with Sandra and her daughter from a previous marriage for almost six years before their relationship turned sour. "Everything was going great" he told me. But then one day, while Michael was out at work, Sandra met Shane outside their house fixing the road, and after that things went rapidly downhill. A few days after Christmas 1996 Sandra told Michael that she had taken out a Protection Order and that he would have to leave the house immediately. Shane promptly moved in, and Sandra began working as a prostitute to help finance their lifestyle.

Michael soon discovered that the couple's $5,000 in savings had been drained from their bank account. Sandra then applied for the DPB, but Social Welfare found out about the money from the bank, and asked her where it had gone. When she told them it had been given to Michael, they asked her to get a signed affidavit from him before they would pay the benefit. Naturally, Michael was feeling less than generous towards her by this stage, and when she demanded that he lie about receiving the money to get her off the hook, he refused to get involved in her fraud. Sandra's response to this was to tell him that she wasn't going to let him have any of his possessions from the house, and that she intended to get even with him.

In early 1997 Michael attempted to organise the return of his gear, particularly the equipment he needed for work. Every time he phoned, Shane answered and delivered a torrent of abuse. In desperation, Michael finally attempted breaking into his house to retrieve tools and some of his personal gear. Unfortunately, Sandra arrived home at the wrong time and caught him. An argument developed, and soon the couple began shouting at each other. Michael taunted her to admit openly that she was sleeping with Shane and Sandra reacted by grabbing a golf club and swinging it at his head. Although there had never been any violence in their relationship before, Michael was not in the mood accept this kind of treatment and he forcefully disarmed her. "I know some of the things I said and done were wrong", he told me. "But the police blew it up out of all proportion."

Although she hadn't in fact taken out a Protection Order in December as she claimed when she threw him out, Sandra had done so by now, so Michael was in breach. To make matters worse, because he considered that he was entitled to reclaim his possessions, he also made the bad mistake of failing to treat the police with respect. When he demanded to know how they could charge him with wilful damage for cutting the plugs off his own television, he was told it was matrimonial property. Michael then asked why they didn't charge Sandra with stealing it if it was jointly owned, but the arresting officer showed no sympathy and bundled Michael into the car and off to the cells.

Michael faced 16 charges including:

At first Michael wasn't too worried because he knew he hadn't done much wrong. But he was in for a nasty surprise. "I was shocked when she got on the stand and blatantly lied. She always seemed like an honest person, and I thought she would go there and tell the truth." Unfortunately Sandra had been receiving counselling from a woman's victim advocacy service, and Michael was accused of a long history of emotional, psychological, and physical abuse towards Sandra, her daughter and even her mother. Knowing none of this was true, Michael wrote to the Police Complaints Authority and insisted the police investigate. When both the mother and the daughter failed to corroborate Sandra's story, she admitted that she had lied. The police then put pressure on Michael to drop his complaint so they wouldn't have to charge her with perjury, but he refused.

Despite police opposition, Michael was initially given bail, but Sandra told the police he was harassing her on the phone, and he was promptly re-arrested. Shane made a point of attended the second bail hearing to watch Michael get sent back to Mount Eden Prison, where he was to spend almost a year on remand. Michael was never charged with anything in regard to this alleged incident, even though it lost him his freedom.

While he was in the Mount, Shane approached a prison officer he knew and tried to arrange a 'hit' on Michael. It's very easy for a guard to offer extra privileges to a violent prisoner then arrange for the two to accidentally meet where no-one is around. To his credit, this particular officer came forward and informed the authorities of Shane's proposal. Incredibly, despite this clear evidence of criminal intent, the police decided not to press charges.

When it finally came time for Michael to stand trial, where he expected to be acquitted on all but the most minor charges, fate intervened in the form of the great Auckland power cut of 1998, which temporarily closed the courts. Michael was told that his case would have to be postponed for another 6 - 8 months, during which he would remain in custody. The Police offered him a plea bargain: if he pleaded guilty to just four charges (the Protection Order breaches, the detaining and the assault), he would receive a non-custodial sentence and be free to leave prison. Michael felt he had no choice - the remand wing of the Mount is generally recognised as the most barbaric and unpleasant place in NZ's penal system, even though everyone in there is supposedly entitled to be considered innocent. After the judge took into account the fact that he had already spent nearly a year in prison, Michael's final sentence was a year's supervision.

After leaving the court a free man at last, Michael and his sister walked down to the bus depot where he found Shane waiting for him. Shane delivered a new series of threats and insults, and suggested that Michael should expect further harassment in the future. This turned out to be no idle threat. Michael and his sister Angela continually receive abusive phone calls from Sandra and her new boyfriend. Shane even contacted Michael's probation officer saying that Michael was bothering them and should be locked up again. When this didn't happen he went as far as contacting the manager of the probation service to protest.

Michael has continued to make complaints about the failure of the police to properly investigate his case, and for charging him with offences for which there was no evidence. Potentially, faced with a jury of people who believe that domestic violence is predominantly perpetrated by males, and with a long list of serious charges, Michael might have spent quite a few years behind bars. When he inquired how the Police Complaints Authority investigation was proceeding, he was told that the arresting officer was on leave for a year without pay because of the stress he was under as a result of the complaint.

He is also still attempting to reclaim his share of the joint property, especially the tools he needs to earn a living. He calculates that his share of the property is worth around $20,000. He has trouble accepting that Sandra and Shane are now enjoying the benefits of six years of his hard work, and there seems to be nothing he can do about it. The Family Court can't help him because the couple weren't married. The amount is too high for the small claims court, and lawyers have told him that if he initiates civil action in the courts most of the money will be used up by legal fees. He has asked a mutual friend to write to Sandra requesting his possessions, but with no success.

Because the terms of his probation forbid him from any contact with Sandra or Shane, Michael lives in constant fear of the police arriving to lock him up again, because a phone call from either of them to the police is all it would take. He is also concerned for his own and his sister's safety after some of Shane's mates broke into their house and threatened them both, particularly since he believes the police are not prepared to protect him. As part of his probation, he has been sent to a psychiatrist for counselling, but Michael can't really get to grips with the double standard he is experiencing.

"How come I can get charged with wilful damage of joint property, but she doesn't get charged with stealing it?" he wonders. "Why do the Police always take her side? - she and her new boyfriend seem to be able to do anything they want."

Sandra showed no sign of violence throughout their six year relationship. It was only after she had transferred her affections to Shane that she became abusive. Her initial attack with the golf club may well have killed Michael if he had not been able to deflect the blow slightly. When a woman is prepared to use a weapon, the balance of power can change dramatically, and Michael was fortunate to have the opportunity to disarm her. She had begun the emotional abuse when she began lying to him, first about Shane, then about the Protection Order. Even now, she rings to abuse him, and colludes with Shane so that he takes care of her need to physically threaten Michael. The worst thing Sandra has done from Michael's point of view however, is to have effortlessly manipulated the justice system into abusing Michael on her behalf, imprisoning him for a year, then stealing his possessions.

Michael reckons he has worked out where his problems originated: "None of this would of happened if Protection Orders weren't so readily available."



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