Watson’s sister Sandy felt empowered by what she heard as she and fellow campaigners held signs up urging the public to open their minds to what they believe was a miscarriage of justice when Watson was jailed for years. The real killer, or killers, of Olivia Hope and Ben Smart had been left free to roam, they say.
Watson is serving a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for the murders of 21-year-old Mr Smart and 17-year-old Ms Hope on January 1, 1998.
Supporting the Scott Watson protesters was Rex Haig, of Dunedin.
Mr Haig spent 10 years in prison for the murder of Mark Roderique, who went missing while on a fishing trip off Westland on Mr Haig’s boat, Antares, in 1994.
He was convicted of Mr Roderique’s murder in November 1995 but in 2006, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction.
He believed Watson’s case was an opportunity for Prime Minister John Key to step in and order a review, much as previous prime ministers Helen Clark and Robert Muldoon had, respectively, helped his own case and that of Arthur Allan Thomas, who was pardoned in 1979 after serving nine years for the 1970 murders of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe.
Mr Haig said there were a number of errors with Watson’s case and if Mr Key did not step in, then the whole situation would end in tears.
Ms Watson said the people of North Otago should care about her brother’s case, as a situation like the one her family had found itself in could happen to anyone at any point.
She said the Oamaru protest, which drew about seven people, was not about the numbers taking part but about highlighting the injustice she felt her brother and family suffered.
"It’s very stressful ... I don’t believe they’ll let him out on parole because he won’t admit guilt for something he didn’t do."
She said it was one of many gatherings that had occurred since the middle of this year and more were still to come in centres such as Christchurch, Blenheim, Palmerston North and Auckland.Mr Haig believed a closer look at the New Zealand justice system needed to occur.
He said police should be given more training, the judiciary examined and the legal system rejigged, as it still reflected the British 12th-century legal setup.
