A substantial miscarriage of justice is how the Supreme Court has described Alan Hall's conviction for murder.
The conviction has been quashed after an almost four decade fight to clear his name. Hall spent 19 years in jail for the murder of Arthur Easton - who was stabbed to death during a home invasion in Papakura in 1985.
It was later found the description of the attacker and key witness statements were concealed or altered by police.
Concerns were also raised about police interviews with Mr Hall who was later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Our reporter Rosie Gordon was in court when the decision was delivered.
Investigator and supporter of Alan Hall Tim McKinnel told Checkpoint today has been emotional for everybody, and it has taken far too long to get to the quashing of Hall's conviction.
He said it is a day of celebration but also sadness that so much of Hall's life has been wasted. He said the NZ justice system often gets things right but when it doesn't it seems to go catastrophically wrong, which it really did for Alan Hall.
