A man responsible for the tragic deaths of 51 individuals in a horrific attack on two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction and sentence.

Brenton Tarrant, aged 35, confessed to orchestrating the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s recent history. Consequently, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2020.

The Australian citizen faced convictions on 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of committing a terrorist act.

In February, Tarrant filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, claiming that the “torturous and inhumane” conditions of his detention during the trial impaired his ability to make sound decisions when he entered his guilty plea.

However, court documents released on Thursday rejected Tarrant’s claims regarding his mental state.

The court noted, “There were inconsistencies in Mr. Tarrant’s own evidence, and his claims contradict the detailed observations and assessments provided by prison authorities and mental health professionals at the time of his plea.”

The panel of three judges found the shooter’s guilty pleas were voluntary, and “he was not coerced or pressured in any way to plead guilty”.

“The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that he was not suffering any significant psychological impacts as a result of his prison conditions at the time he pleaded guilty,” the court said.

The court said Tarrant’s “proposed conviction appeal is utterly devoid of merit”.

He live-streamed his attack on Al-Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in March 2019, before being apprehended by police.

He released a racist manifesto shortly before storming the mosques armed with military-style semi-automatics, indiscriminately shooting at Muslim people gathered for Friday prayers and broadcasting the killings on Facebook using a head-mounted camera.

The massacre shocked the world and prompted New Zealand to quickly tighten gun laws.

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