Christchurch gunman fails to appeal convictions in New Zealand court | Christchurch shooting

The Australian white supremacy that 51 Muslim worshipers into two mosques Christchurch in 2019 he was barred from appealing against his convictions, after one of New Zealand’s highest courts said his bid was “completely without merit”.

Brenton Tarrant, who is responsible for the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history, asked the Court of Appeal in February to allow him to appeal against his convictions, claiming that harsh prison conditions affected his mental health and forced him to confess to the crimes.

In a decision released Thursday, the court said it did not accept Tarrant’s testimony about his mental state, which contradicted detailed observations from prison authorities, mental health professionals and trial lawyers.

“He sought to mislead us about his state of mind in a feeble attempt to promote an appeal in circumstances where all other evidence proved he had made an informed and entirely rational decision to plead guilty.”

The court said Tarrant was not forced or pressured in any way to plead guilty.

“The evidence overwhelmingly shows that he had no significant psychological impact as a result of his prison conditions when he pleaded guilty.”

Tarrant also failed to adequately explain the delay in filing his notice of appeal, even though he had access to lawyers, the court said.

“The court concludes that Mr Tarrant’s proposed appeal is absolutely without merit.”

Tarrant pleaded guilty in March 2020 to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a terrorism charge, after initially saying he would defend the charges. In August 2020, Tarrant entered the first person New Zealand to be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of ever walking free.

But in 2022 I have filed an appeal with the Court of Appealfor both his convictions and his sentence. The court had to first consider whether the appeal can proceed because it was filed outside the legislative time frame for doing so.

During the week-long trial, which began on February 9, Tarrant told the three-judge panel that his mental health had deteriorated due to conditions at the prison, where he was held in solitary confinement, with limited reading material or contact with other inmates.

He said he had suffered a “nervous breakdown” by the time he entered his guilty plea, and he admitted the crimes just months before his trial was due to start because he felt there was “little else I could do”.

Tarrant, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, said he hid his mental illness, driven in part by the “political movement I’m a part of” and said he applied late because he didn’t have access to the information needed to do so.

Tarrant’s former lawyers, psychologists and prison staff also testified during the trial, challenging Tarrant’s claims of mental health problems and harsh prison conditions. Experts ruled that Tarrant was fit to enter pleas.

Crown attorney Barnaby Hawes told the court Tarrant was “an unreliable witness and his story should be treated with caution.” Furthermore, evidence of his guilt — including the live broadcast of the attacks — was so overwhelming, a conviction would be assured if his case were retried, Hawes said.

Tarrant moved to New Zealand in 2017 plans to launch a white supremacy attack. He spent months planning the mass shooting, scouting the mosques, distributing a manifesto expressing his racist views before opening fire, and live-streaming part of the assault on Facebook.

After the attack, Jacinda Ardern’s government ban military-style semi-automatic rifles and created a firearms registry.

An inquest into the attacks is the biggest coronial inquiry New Zealand has seen and is still ongoing. In October 2025, the High Court left the door open for Tarrant to be called as a witness despite objections from survivors and families of the victims.