LIFE SENTENCE - THE CREWE MURDERS PART 1 & 2

“The double murder of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe continues to mystify New Zealanders. This documentary looks at the murders, the man initially convicted of killing the couple, and the man who fought to uncover the truth about the crime.” - (New Zealand On Air Programme Catalogue)

Investigates the wrongful arrest of Arthur Allan Thomas for the murders of Jeanette and Harvey Crewe which occurred on a South Auckland farm in 1970. Tried and convicted twice of murder, Arthur Thomas spent 9 years in prison until he received a Royal pardon in 1979. The Royal Commission accused the Police of manufacturing and withholding evidence.

The first part of the documentary reconstructs the murder and takes us up to the retrial in February 1973. Footage from the feature film ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’ is used, as well as interviews with: Arthur and Vivienne Thomas; their relatives who formed a Retrial Committee; Bruce Hutton, the Officer in Charge of the Operation; David Lange and others.

The second part of the documentary picks up at the end of the retrial where journalist Pat Booth became involved. Using information given by John Ritchie, a retired Policeman and Firearms Expert, Pat Booth and, scientist Dr Jim Sprott who worked together and eventually forced the release of Arthur Allan Thomas.
This part also shows footage of Muldoon who appointed an investigator and subsequently announced Thomas’s pardon. In 1980 there was a Royal Commission into the wrongful imprisonment of Thomas who was awarded $1 million in compensation. Throughout this programme the enormous and overwhelming public support of Thomas is shown and the New Zealand Justice and Advisory Systems are questioned.