New Zealand to pay record amount to wrongfully convicted man

In this May 17, 2015, photo, Teina Pora poses for a photo as he talks about his trial of the incident of rape and murder of Susan Burdett in 1992. New Zealand's government on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, agreed to pay a record amount to Pora who spent more than 20 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. (Nick Reed/New Zealand Herald via AP) NEW ZEALAND OUT, AUSTRALIA OUT (The Associated Press)

New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams speaks to the media in Wellington, Wednesday, June 15, 2016, about the apology to Teina Pora after he was wrongfully jailed for a crime he did not commit. New Zealand's government agreed to pay a record amount to Pora who spent more than 20 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. (Marty Melville/New Zealand Herald via AP) NEW ZEALAND OUT, AUSTRALIA OUT (The Associated Press)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – New Zealand's government has agreed to pay a record amount to a man who spent more than 20 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit.

The government announced Wednesday that it would pay Teina Pora 2.5 million New Zealand dollars ($1.8 million) and also issued him a formal apology. The compensation is the highest ever paid by the South Pacific nation for a wrongful conviction.

Pora was convicted in 1994 of raping and murdering Susan Burdett, an Auckland woman. After agreeing to hear an appeal from Pora, Britain's Privy Council in 2015 quashed all his convictions.

The British court was historically New Zealand's final court of appeal, although it has been superseded by a domestic Supreme Court for cases after 2003.