Charges against former Lake Alice nurse, 91, stopped due to ill health

A former Lake Alice nurse charged with ill-treating children in his care up to 49 years ago would not stand trial because of his failing physical and mental health.

John Richard James (Dempsey) Corkran, 91, was to stand trial at the High Court in August facing eight charges of cruelty to children in his care.

On June 20 the charges against him were stopped and on Wednesday, at the High Court in Wellington, Justice Andru Isac issued his reasons.

In his decision he recognised the complainants. “I have no doubt my decision will cause further distress to those who have endured grave injustices without voice or acknowledgement for many decades.”

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“But it would be wrong to allow such considerations to result in a further injustice to the defendant.”

Corkran was dying, had two forms of cancer, and was thought to have just months to live, the judge said.

His hearing and eyesight were failing, he could not eat solid food, and was increasingly in pain.

His general practitioner said he was too frail to attend court.

As well, the judge had reports from two psychiatrists, a neuropsychologist, two urologists, and letters from two of Corkran’s children about his decline in health and functioning.

Psychiatrists said a mild age-related disorder which affected his mental functioning was now complicated by a major depressive disorder, pain and pain relief.

While they did not say that he was legally unfit to stand trial, they had real concerns about him facing what was scheduled to be an eight-week trial.

The judge said as Corkran’s cancer progressed his difficulties would worsen, especially as he would be away from his home region.

However, it was also clear he was fit to plead to the charges, understood the nature and the purpose of the proceedings, and the possible consequences.

The judge decided it was impossible to give Corkran a fair trial.

Corkran was a nurse at the former Lake Alice psychiatric hospital in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, and later a charge nurse in its child and adolescent unit.

The dates of the charges were from 1974 to 1977. He was charged in December 2021 with giving seven adolescents painful paraldehyde injections to punish them. He pleaded not guilty.

The judge said the nature of the charges and the evidence involving seven complainaints, meant Corkran would probably have to give evidence in his own defence and be cross-examined.

“And therein lies the problem,” the judge wrote. “Mr Corkran is a 91-year-old man dying of cancer who has serious physical and mental impairments that, in my view, rob him of the ability to give evidence before a jury.”

He regularly lost his train of thought or could not remember the point of a question. He might confabulate to make up for a lack of memory of understanding.

“I was left with the distinct impression that, at best, he would be left as a mere spectator in his own criminal trial,” the judge said.

Delay in bringing a case could itself be grounds for stopping charges, he said.

It was 47 years since the first investigation into treatment of Lake Alice patients. Thirty former staff members who might have given evidence for the defence had now died, and another 20 were no longer available to give evidence.

The delay also affected Corkran’s ability to recall events and explain or understand evidence such as the medical records that still existed.

The judge also considered – but did not decide – whether Corkran had a legal immunity from prosecution for acts done while working in a psychiatric hospital.

The judge said concern about mistreatment of patients at Lake Alice first surfaced in the 1970s.

Between 1976 and 2022 various state and international agencies reported and investigated complaints.

Police had already begun their fourth investigation when the United Nations committee against torture criticised previous inquiries and called for a proper investigation and charges to be laid, if appropriate.

By that time the focus of many of the complaints, Dr Selwyn Leeks who had been in charge of the adolescent unit, was thought not fit to stand trial. Leeks died in January 2022.