Overview
- A five-day Court of Appeal hearing opened in Wellington with Brenton Tarrant testifying via video link from a high‑security unit.
- Tarrant said solitary confinement, restricted contact and limited reading left him with "nervous exhaustion" and he felt there was little option but to admit the crimes.
- Crown lawyer Barnaby Hawes countered that records do not show a serious mental health crisis and said Tarrant could have sought an adjournment or gone to trial.
- Access to the proceeding is tightly controlled with delayed remote viewing for victims and suppression of the defense lawyers’ identities for safety.
- Judges are expected to reserve their decision; if the pleas are vacated the case returns to the High Court, and if not a separate hearing will address his late sentence appeal.