WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The man who killed 51 Muslim worshipers at two mosques in New Zealand’s deadliest mass shooting told an appeals court Monday that he felt forced to admit to the crimes because of “irrationality” due to harsh prison conditions, as he sought to have his guilty pleas discarded.
A panel of three judges at the Court of Appeal in Wellington will hear five days of evidence about Brenton Tarrant’s claim that he was not fit to plead to the terrorism, murder and attempted murder charges he faced after the 2019 attack in the city of Christchurch. If his bid is successful, his case would return to court for a trial, which was averted in March 2020 when he admitted to the hate-fueled shooting.
Click to Gallery
In this photo made from video and provided by the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, Brenton Tarrant appears before the court by video from Auckland Prison in Auckland. (New Zealand Court of Appeal via AP)
In this photo made from video and provided by the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, Brenton Tarrant appears before the court by video from Auckland Prison in Auckland. (New Zealand Court of Appeal via AP)
FILE - In this courtroom drawing Brenton Tarrant, the man convicted of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques, appears via video link at the Christchurch District Court, in Christchurch, New Zealand, June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephanie McEwin, File)
FILE - A police officer stands guard in front of the Al Noor mosque, in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
FILE - Brenton Tarrant appears in the Christchurch District Court, in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 16, 2019. (Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo via AP, File)
He is also seeking to appeal his sentence of life without the chance of parole, which had never been imposed in New Zealand before. Tarrant’s evidence Monday about his mental state when he pleaded guilty was the first time he had spoken substantively in a public setting since he livestreamed the 2019 massacre on Facebook.
The Australian man, a self-declared white supremacist, migrated to New Zealand with a view to committing the massacre, which he planned in detail. He amassed a cache of semiautomatic weapons, took steps to avoid detection and wrote a lengthy manifesto before he drove from Dunedin to Christchurch in March 2019 and opened fire at two mosques.
Along with 51 people killed, the youngest a 3-year-old boy, dozens of others were severely wounded. The attack was considered one of New Zealand’s darkest days and institutions have sought to curb the spread of Tarrant’s message through legal orders and a ban on possession of his manifesto or video of the attack.
Monday’s hearing took place under tight security constraints that severely limited who could view Tarrant’s evidence, which included some reporters and those hurt or bereaved in the massacre. Tarrant, who wore a white button-down shirt and black-rimmed glasses and had a shaved head, spoke on video from a white-walled room at Auckland Prison.
Answering questions from a Crown lawyer and from lawyers representing him, Tarrant, 35, said his mental health had deteriorated due to conditions in prison, where he was held in solitary confinement with limited reading material or contact with other prisoners.
By the time he pleaded guilty, Tarrant said he was suffering from “nervous exhaustion” and uncertainty about his identity and beliefs. He had admitted to the crimes a few months before his trial was due to begin because there was “little else I could do,” he told the court.
Crown lawyer Barnaby Hawes suggested to Tarrant during questioning that the Australian man had other options. He could have requested a delay in his trial date on mental health grounds or could have proceeded to trial and defended himself, Hawes said.
Hawes also put to Tarrant that there was little evidence in the documentation of his behavior by mental health experts and prison staff that he was in any kind of serious mental crisis. Tarrant suggested that signs of mental illness he displayed hadn’t been recorded and that at times he had sought to mask them.
“I was definitely doing everything possible to come across as confident, assured, mentally well,” he told the court. Tarrant’s behavior “reflected the political movement I’m a part of,” he added. “So I always wanted to put on the best front possible.”
He agreed that he had had access to legal advice throughout the court process. Tarrant’s current lawyers have been granted name suppression because they feared representing him would make them unsafe.
Bids to appeal convictions or sentences in New Zealand must be made within 20 working days. Tarrant was about two years late in seeking an appeal, filing documents with the court in September 2022.
He told the court Monday that his bid had been late because he hadn’t had access to the information required to make it.
The hearing is due to run for the rest of the week but the judges are expected to release their decision at a later date. If they reject Tarrant’s attempt to have his guilty pleas discarded, a later hearing will focus on his bid to appeal his sentence.
In this photo made from video and provided by the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, Brenton Tarrant appears before the court by video from Auckland Prison in Auckland. (New Zealand Court of Appeal via AP)
In this photo made from video and provided by the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, Brenton Tarrant appears before the court by video from Auckland Prison in Auckland. (New Zealand Court of Appeal via AP)
FILE - In this courtroom drawing Brenton Tarrant, the man convicted of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques, appears via video link at the Christchurch District Court, in Christchurch, New Zealand, June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Stephanie McEwin, File)
FILE - A police officer stands guard in front of the Al Noor mosque, in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
FILE - Brenton Tarrant appears in the Christchurch District Court, in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 16, 2019. (Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo via AP, File)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defense won this championship.
Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.
Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by snagging Maye’s pass in the air after Witherspoon hit his arm and ran it back 45 yards for a pick-6.
Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was just so happy to battle with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed. All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one over here.”
Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.
After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn’t have any in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.
“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “So proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.”
The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack late in the third quarter set up a short field and Darnold connected with Barner on 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.
Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.
The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.
Down 19-0, Maye and the New England offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.
Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.
But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get it closer, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.
Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.
Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.
The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers’ 33-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rasheed Shahid that could have been a 76-yard TD.
On Seattle’s last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.
Rylie Mills pushed left guard Jared Wilson into Maye and took both of them down on one of Seattle’s sacks.
Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime performance that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist entirely in Spanish.
The Patriots failed to win the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.
AP NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.
The 23-year-old Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Seattle Seahawks Byron Murphy II (91), Devon Witherspoon (21), and the Seahawks defense celebrate after Murphy recovered a fumble after a sack during the third quarter of Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) celebrates his touchdown on a fumble recovery during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner catches a touchdown pass during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is sacked by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills, right, sacks New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, left, during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills (98) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald walks the field during an NFL Super Bowl football practice on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, left, talks with team owner Robert Kraft at the practice venue for their Super Bowl 60 NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) arrives during an NFL Super Bowl football practice on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., ahead of Super Bowl 60 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye waits to be in a group photo at their practice venue for the Super Bowl 60 NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
