Judge praises offender for lifestyle changes through Pūwhakamua course
5 Feb, 2021 06:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Stephanie Arthur-Worsop is the Rotorua Daily Post's News Directorstephanie.worsop@nzme.co.nzTheDailyPost
Joseph Herbert thought his life would never be anything more than a revolving door of violence and imprisonment.
And following his last bout of abuse, his former partner of 11 years realised if she stayed
with him, he would kill her.
But after a year on the Pūwhakamua programme, designed and run by reformed crime boss Billy Macfarlane, Herbert is on the right path for the first time in his life.
His "rare success story" was last week praised by Rotorua District Court judge Tony Snell who said it was not often he saw somebody "take so many significant strides in the right direction as [Herbert] has in the past 12 months".