David Bain - Costs and Compensation

Costs and Compensation

Altogether, Bain's case cost the taxpayer more than $3 million in legal aid. It may end up costing even more. In 2012 a Canadian Supreme Court judge, Justice Binnie, was appointed by the Government to consider whether Bain should be compensated for the 13 years he spent in prison. Former Justice Minister Simon Power chose an overseas judge to examine Mr Bain's application for compensation because of the high-profile nature of the case in New Zealand.

Justice Binnie's report concluded that 'on the balance of probabilities' Mr Bain is innocent of the murders of his parents, two sisters and a brother in 1994 and should be paid compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Although the Government is not obliged to pay anything, Bain could be looking at a payout of close to $2 million for non-pecuniary losses such as liberty and emotional harm, and more for pecuniary losses such as loss of livelihood, in compensation for the almost 13 years he spent in prison.

Binnie was paid $400,000 to investigate and write his report which was delivered to the New Zealand government in September, 2012. After considering it for three months, Justice Minister Judith Collins, apparently not happy with Justice Binnie's conclusions, sought a second opinion from Robert Fisher QC. She said it would likely be 2013 before a final decision was made on whether Bain would receive compensation. Mr Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed, QC, said it was "appalling" that Judith Collins would seek more advice and delay the compensation deal. "By convention, you should accept it . Why send it to a more junior person to review the top judge in the Commonwealth, who is independent? It's ridiculous."

On top of costs to the taxpayer, Joe Karam said his crusade to clear Bain had cost him most of his personal fortune; Karam's friends estimated his personal losses could be as much as $4 million in terms of his time, loss of earnings and costs of legal and forensic experts.