Recent Re-examinations
More recently, Hamiora Pere's case has been re-examined, with some claiming that he was treated unfairly. It has been alleged that if the three other accused had their sentences commuted, Pere should have been treated the same way — there was no corroborated evidence that Pere had actually committed murder. (It is argued that the Crown realised this, and that this is why the separate murder charge was dropped.) According to some theories, Pere was executed not because he was deemed to have deserved it, but because the government "needed someone to hang" to satisfy public opinion or to serve as an example. Wi Tamararo, against whom the strongest evidence of murder was presented, deprived the government of a hanging by committing suicide, leaving Pere as the only real candidate. In the minutes of the Executive Council, an opinion was noted that "one execution will be useful as more would have been by way of example and caution".
Read more about this topic: Hamiora Pere