WELLINGTON, New Zealand
The man who killed 51 worshippers in New Zealand’s deadliest mass shooting told a court Monday he was forced to plead guilty due to “irrationality” caused by harsh prison conditions, launching a bid to withdraw those admissions and overturn his landmark life sentence.
Brenton Tarrant is appealing both his guilty pleas and his sentence of life imprisonment without parole—the most severe penalty ever imposed in New Zealand.
A panel of three judges at the Court of Appeal will hear five days of evidence over whether Tarrant was mentally fit to plead in March 2020 to charges of terrorism, murder, and attempted murder for the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
If his appeal succeeds, his case would return to court for a full trial, which his original guilty pleas had avoided.
Tarrant’s testimony Monday marked the first time he has spoken publicly at length since he livestreamed the massacre.
He told the court that conditions while on remand led to “a state of mind that was not rational,” compelling him to admit to the crimes.
The hearing continues.
By James Kisoo
