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The man convicted of murdering two Ashburton Work and Income workers has had his appeal against his conviction and sentence dismissed.
Russell John Tully
Photo: POOL / Dean Kozanic
Russell John Tully, was convicted in 2016 of the fatal shooting of Peggy Noble and Leigh Cleveland, at the Ashburton Work and Income office, in 2014.
Tully was also found guilty of attempting to assassinate case manager Kim Adams.
The jury found him not guilty of attempting to murder Lindy Curtis, who was shot in the leg.
He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum period of 27 years without parole.
Tully appealed his conviction in 2016 and presented evidence for his appeal earlier this year.
He argued that he was not in the right state of mind at the time and that his mental health should have been taken into account during the trial.
Tully said he had an insanity defense available, which Trial Judge Justice Mander refused to leave to the jury.
In its decision, the Court of Appeals said it agreed with sentencing Judge Justice Mander that Tully experienced no remorse.
At trial, Judge Mander ignored Tully’s mental health, describing the skin disorder Tully argued affected his brain as a concern.
The Court of Appeals said Tully’s condition could properly be characterized as mental illness.
“We also accept that, had it not been for that illness, Mr. Tully might not have approached WINZ or insisted so much on receiving what he thought were his rights. However, it was his narcissistic sense of entitlement rather than his delusional disorder. of the skin which explained his animus towards WINZ.
“His planned, organized, and purposeful demeanor, which extended to disguise and escape, clearly indicates that he understood well what he was doing.”
The court said in their opinion that Tully was an intelligent man who behaved strategically during his trial and his appeal, exploiting his health complaints to escape responsibility for his actions.
The court dismissed his appeal.
