An Indigenous man seeking compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned over a bank robbery decades ago says he is fighting for accountability in the justice system for all people.
Terry Irving was jailed for four-and-a-half years after being found guilty of the armed robbery of a Cairns bank in 1993.
Mr Irving's armed robbery conviction was quashed by the High Court in 1997 after the State of Queensland conceded he did not receive a fair trial.
He was not compensated for that incarceration but is seeking damages in the Brisbane Supreme Court for being subject to malicious prosecution on a lesser charge of accessory to robbery that led to him spending a week in jail.
"It's been 31 years since I was incarcerated for something I never done. It's taken this long to vindicate me ... what I want from this process is there to be more transparency for everyone in Queensland," Mr Irving said outside court on Thursday.
"I would like to see more accountability for the agencies that did not exercise the law. I would like for it to not take 30-odd years for restorative justice for everyone in this state."
The Queensland Court of Appeal in 2021 ruled now-retired Queensland detective Helen Maree Pfingst initially acted with an improper purpose in charging Mr Irving as an accessory to robbery while knowing he did not commit the offence.
The ruling meant Mr Irving was entitled to claim damages for the seven days he spent in custody due to the accessory charge.
During the hearing on damages, Mr Irving's barrister, Gerard Mullins, argued a substantial compensation should still apply to a comparatively short period in custody.
Mr Mullins told Justice Susan Brown there were cases of people being wrongfully held in custody for less than a day who were awarded up to $100,000 damages due to humiliation and damage to their reputations.
"The Cairns watch house was overcrowded ... (Mr Irving's) experience was very distressing. There was a lot of violence between prisoners. He slept on a plastic mattress on the floor," Mr Mullins said.
Mr Mullins said the malicious accessory charge against Mr Irving led to his imprisonment for armed robbery and had a "catastrophic impact on his life".
"He still fights to this day for some vindication . There is no comparative case," Mr Mullins said.
Barrister Scott McLeod, acting for Ms Pfingst and the State of Queensland, said he was "not playing it down" in terms of what Mr Irving experienced in custody but damages should be determined on facts rather than speculation.
"It's a misconceived approach to conflate the findings in relation to accessory charge and morph that into an ongoing effect on Mr Irving," he said.
Justice Brown reserved her decision on Thursday.
Mr Irving said no amount of money could make up for his pain and suffering.
"Money is really not an issue," he said.
"I'm sad for the experience I've been through but I overcome that sadness with the hope that it stops with me, that the people of Queensland determine what is right for them, and that would be justice."
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