Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Fresh Air Up First Featured Embedded The NPR Politics Podcast Throughline Trump's Terms More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics New Zealand mosque shooter asks appeals court to throw out his guilty plea The man serving a life sentence for New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting asked an appeals court to throw out his guilty plea. World New Zealand mosque shooter asks appeals court to throw out his guilty plea February 11, 20264:47 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Kristina Kukolja New Zealand mosque shooter asks appeals court to throw out his guilty plea Listen · 1:58 1:58 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5707863/nx-s1-9643679" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The man serving a life sentence for New Zealand's deadliest mass shooting asked an appeals court to throw out his guilty plea. Sponsor Message
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The man convicted of the Christchurch Mosque shootings in New Zealand is asking a court to withdraw his guilty plea. He was sentenced on murder and terrorism charges for killing 51 people and injuring dozens more. Kristina Kukolja reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in non-English language).
KRISTINA KUKOLJA, BYLINE: A moving tribute in New Zealand's traditional Maori language - the victims remembered at a national memorial in March 2019.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Muse Nur Awale, Zakaria Bhuiyan.
KUKOLJA: Weeks earlier, Australian Brenton Tarrant had opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. All the victims were Muslim and included children. But now, years later, Tarrant is asking the court for more time for his appeal filed in 2022, well after the legislative deadline. He told the court of appeal via video link from prison this week he wasn't of sound mind when he pleaded guilty. John Pratt is emeritus professor of criminology at the Victoria University of Wellington. He says Tarrant claims, quote, "inhumane prison conditions" affected his decision-making.
JOHN PRATT: On the grounds that he was disorientated (ph) in 2019 and having been apprehended by the police and having spent time in solitary confinement in custody pending trial, he dismissed his lawyers and pleaded guilty.
KUKOLJA: In making its decision, the court is hearing evidence from prison officers, psychologists, Tarrant's former lawyers and other experts. Professor Pratt says ultimately Tarrant wants the court to reconsider his conviction and sentence, which could lead to retrial. A panel of three judges is expected to deliver its ruling later this year.
For NPR News, I'm Kristina Kukolja in Melbourne, Australia.
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