Kiwi’s, who have shown in a recent poll to be 68% in favour of the Three Strikes Law, are appalled that yet another Judge has engaged in judicial activism by subverting the will of the NZ Parliament and invoking the ‘manifestly unjust’ clause in favour of a violent thug.

George Pomee, who had just become a Third Striker, was being prosecuted for aggravated robbery and kidnapping. 

Justice Michael Downs listed aggravating factors that made Pomee’s latest offending worse. They included; it was premeditated, he targeted the same location six days earlier, it involved actual violence, he punched the victim repeatedly, and to his head, he threatened to kill the victim, he showed him a magazine with bullets, and the later search revealed a gun was present, therefore the threat was credible. He acted in concert with others, and so risked escalation of harm.
 
Then, after going through this litany of violent crime, Justice Downs sentenced Pomee to 14 years with a mere five-and-a-half-year minimum to be served, because in his view it would have been “manifestly unjust” to impose the Third Strike maximum sentence with no parole.
 
Thanks to this Judge, thugs like Pomee will be back on our streets creating more victims sooner than later.

What doesn’t Justice Downs get? This thug spends his life hurting people. The Three Strikes law when applied correctly, would slow that down.
 
Go to http://www.judgethejudges.co.nz/ for more.

Jock Jamieson
Public Awareness Manager
Sensible Sentencing Trust
022 184 5117