This book tells the story of the case of George Gwaze, twice charged and twice acquitted of the rape and murder of his ten-year-old adopted niece, Charlene Makaza. When Charlene is found unconscious one morning, gasping for breath, with a high fever and lying in a pool of diarrhoea, her family rush her to the Christchurch 24-hour clinic. She is treated for overwhelming sepsis and transferred to hospital. Sadly her life cannot be saved and at 1.00am she dies. During the course of Charlene’s short illness the diagnosis shifts from infection to sexual assault and homicide, and her grieving family find themselves publicly engulfed in a criminal investigation. What unfolds next is a surreal set of events so improbable that they seem fictitious. Murder that Wasn’t meticulously explores the facts surrounding this case, based on scientific, medical and court records and individual interviews, to give a true account of this family’s extraordinary story

Bind: paperback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 150 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 30-01-2015

From Crime to Care presents the history of abortion in Aotearoa New Zealand from pre-colonial times to the present, weaving in stories and experiences from key people on both sides of the debate. After the first abortion clinic opened in 1974 there were protests and pickets, and the issue shaped our politics in the 1970s. Moral crusaders, activists, legislators, abortion-providers and many others put their reputations and sometimes their lives on the line to do what they thought was right. The abortion struggle serves as an illustration of our changing political and social landscape, with a public move from conservative towards more liberal values. Finally, after 180 years, abortion in Aotearoa is a health rather than a criminal concern. However, the issue continues to divide people, and events in the United States have shown how quickly change can occur, with their Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and several states banning abortions.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 254

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 09-02-2023