Ogloff, a clinical and forensic psychologist and distinguished professor at Swinburne University in Australia, was called by the Crown to comment on Witness B\u2019s evidence.<\/p>\n
Brenton Tarrant gave evidence at the Court of Appeal on Monday morning. Photo \/ Ministry of Justice<\/p>\n
One of his lawyers, whose name is suppressed, put it to Ogloff that his harsh prison conditions left him with no choice but to plead guilty to stop his suffering. <\/p>\n
Ogloff responded, saying it was clear from the health assessor\u2019s report that Tarrant understood that he would be detained for life, \u201cso I don\u2019t understand the logic of how pleading guilty would stop the suffering\u201d.<\/p>\n
And even if there was a change in his behaviour, Ogloff said Witness B appeared to give no consideration to whether this rose to the standard of being unable to plead. He also suggested it was in Tarrant\u2019s interest to exaggerate his mental health because he had an appeal.<\/p>\n
He was also critical of Witness B\u2019s willingness to take the gunman\u2019s assertions about his state of mind at the time he pleaded guilty, without looking at contemporaneous factors that may have affected his mental state.<\/p>\n
While he acknowledged a point by Tarrant\u2019s lawyer that Dr B hadn\u2019t disagreed with the report\u2019s findings in his evidence, Ogloff said he\u2019d reached a vastly different conclusion. <\/p>\n
Ogloff said when looking at the issue of solitary confinement, it was important to understand that it impacted people differently; institutions operated different regimes, and not all people who are placed in solitary confinement developed mental illness.<\/p>\n
Asked by Tarrant\u2019s lawyer whether solitary confinement could lead to someone\u2019s loss of sense of self, which in itself could impact a person\u2019s ability to make decisions, Ogloff explained that some people who\u2019d spent years in solitary confinement were able to function, while others who\u2019d spent a much shorter period of time were totally incapable. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe crux was what was the impact on an individual at that point in time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Al Noor mosque, pictured from South Hagley Park in Christchurch.<\/p>\n
Tarrant was jailed for life without parole in 2020 for murdering 51 people at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques<\/a>.<\/p>\n