Judith Collins aims to put the 'Beast' back inside

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Judith Collins aims to put the 'Beast' back inside

3News NZ

Stewart Murray Wilson

Stewart Murray Wilson

Unit five of the self-care houses at Whanganui Prison has been prepared for tomorrow's early arrival of Stewart Murray Wilson, with a black polythene attached to makeshift fences an attempt to afford him some privacy.

But Wilson's stint in the area could be brief if Justice Minister Judith Collins gets her way - she's drafting a new law which could see offenders like him put back in jail.

“Somebody with the sort of offending history of Stewart Murray Wilson who has shown no remorse and is considered to be of extreme danger to members of the public…that is the sort of person who is likely to be subject to one of these orders,” says Ms Collins.

They would be called public protection orders and would allow a High Court judge to review the cases of former prisoners subject to extended supervision orders, that's where very dangerous offenders are monitored even after their parole ends.

They would be re-assessed by a judge, in a civil rather than criminal proceeding, and if they're considered too dangerous locked up again.

Ms Collins has proposed such orders before but this time she's acknowledged that she wants them to apply retrospectively, to people like Wilson.

“I don't want these people out,” says Ms Collins.

But tomorrow Wilson will be let out and so the Whanganui council is seeking a legal opinion on the likelihood of a successful appeal to today's High Court decision to stop him being placed in the Whanganui Prison grounds.

The council is also encouraging the community to shun Wilson - providing businesses with trespass notices to hand him if he comes on their property.

“I’m reasonably happy, I think we have a council that wants to continue to actually do something about this issue, just because we lost the judicial review doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t other things that we can do,” says Whanganui mayor Annette Main.

“I'm happy now that the community and the councillors can trespass this guy but there was a lot of debate going on about where exactly he was going to be trespassed and who could go about it, but it’s still not going to solve the issue that he’s here,” says Whanganui resident John Sturnmey.

And tomorrow morning at around 5.30 he will be there, released into a community determined to keep themselves safe.

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Comments

30/08/2012 8:41:03 p.m.

Brett wrote:

Bang on the nail Barney!

29/08/2012 11:44:08 a.m.

Barney wrote:

Thanks to our namby pamby society removing the death penalty there is now no effective solutions to matters like this.

29/08/2012 8:37:08 a.m.

Gary wrote:

I think the order by Collins is a good idea of sorts. This is the same or similar to the system Norway uses and will use for Brevik. I understand people being afraid with all the media hype and Michael Laws and then the Mayor Main chipping in (I feel more for their own image than anything else) But the simple truth is that this guy is mentally ill and needs help. And if prison is the only place we have in NZ for the mentally ill that offend then I guess we have no other option?? The real problem with that of course is then prison becomes a mix of mental (patients) and ordinary criminals that we need to rehabilitate and will be back out in society. Will they be better or worse then when they come out? A slippery slope but if we refuse to address the real issues then this is the best we can hope for.

29/08/2012 7:20:24 a.m.

alison wrote:

If miss collins has applied these orders before then how come he is allowed out now? Why was an order not given before he was released? Surely there was enough time as everyone new about it or is this retrospective order just another chance for our govt to put a law change through that will affect everybody in the end?