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Parole Board hits back lock-em-up critics

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Thu, 22 Sep 2011 8:21p.m.

In a rare move, the board has responded to the Sensible Sentencing Trust's criticism (file pic)

In a rare move, the board has responded to the Sensible Sentencing Trust's criticism (file pic)

The Sensible Sentencing Trust has again attacked the release of convicted killers on parole, but this time the Parole Board has rejected the criticism as offensive.

It was revealed this week that four of the six men convicted of the vicious killing of Timaru man Wayne Bray in 2008 have either been released on parole or soon will be soon, after serving less than half their sentences for manslaughter.

The 26-year-old father of three died four days after he walked past a party and was attacked by six teenagers who stomped on his head.

Ashley Moffat, now 21, Nicholas Peters, 20, Morgan Parker, 21, and Simon Anglem, 21, face travel restrictions, curfews, electronic monitoring, and drugs and alcohol bans while on parole.

John Jamieson and Daniel Kreegher, who were jailed for nine and eight years respectively for manslaughter, are not yet eligible for parole.

The trust's Garth McVicar accused the Parole Board on Thursday of regarding life cheaply and only paying lip service to victims' submissions on the killers' release.

He questioned how anyone could spend just two and a half years in prison for killing someone.

"The lack of any real consequences for taking a life is not only an insult to the victim's family, it is the one constant factor in today's violent society."

However, in a rare move, the board has responded to Mr McVicar's criticism, saying his comments are offensive to board members.

"Five current members (out of 40) have had to live through the experience of one of their family being murdered," spokeswoman Sonja de Friez said.

Every board member took the views of each victim very seriously, and this was clearly apparent in the decisions released on Mr Bray's killers, she said.

Assessing risk was a very strenuous and scientific process, and safety was the primary focus.

Laws also meant an offender could not be kept in prison longer than was consistent with the safety of the community, she said.

NZN

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Comments

24 Sep 2011 06:02p.m.

Denis Stewart wrote:

Garth Mcvicar is psychopath manipulator with double standards, example stating Emery should serve no time in jail for tracking down and knifing to death a defenceless 15 year old boy for writing on a fence when the boy had no criminal convictions or any related problem with the law, the police said Cameron was a good kid.
Mcvicar said the boy had it coming and blamed the parents to the media, having no feeling what so ever to that boys (victims) family, rubbing salt into their emotional wounds of losing their loved one, simple so Garth Mcvicar can grab media attention to promote his hate and revenge brigade.
David Garrett, a drunken obnoxious disgraced MP, with violent criminal convictions that Garth Mcvicar covered up including David Garrett’s stealing from a dead child’s grave.
Garth Mcvicar then gave David Garret a hand to gag that dead child’s (victims) family and to steal their freedom of speech, one a 93 year old (victim) woman, Mcvicar and Garret traumatised that family while galloping around the country ranting on about no name suppressions and now the repeat ranting’s of Garth Mcvicar in the story to date manslaughter.
Garth Vicars soap box days are over, is a well-known liar, cheat and manipulator and using PTSD victims with no care of peace of their souls as the Parole board well known amongst other things such as Garth Mcvicars covering up of child rapes for his SST members, while parole board can only look at Garth Mcvicar in utter disgust on any breath Garth Mcvicar draws speaking on law and order knowing Garth Mcvicar is desperately seeking media attention while dramatizing victims souls and emotions like the devil .

23 Sep 2011 10:52p.m.

cherylee wrote:

i think that this hole thing sucks not only for wayne brays famaily but his friends to as i know of drug dealers who have been givin longer jail terms than these assholes i have seen for my self what it has done to waynes family and the wankers that took waynes life should still be in jail none of them should have been givin parole or even been let out of jail its not fair put them back in jail an let waynes famiely try an work through it

23 Sep 2011 04:41p.m.

za wrote:

"Offensive??" What is really OFFENSIVE to me and many, many other NZ citizens, occurs every time a killer or other violent offender is released after serving an already inadequate sentence for his or her crime.

23 Sep 2011 09:14a.m.

Garth McVicar wrote:

The Parole Board says my criticism is offensive! How do they think the family of Wayne Bray feel? Offended, hurt, gutted......but of course they are only victims and their feeling don't matter. The one thing I do agree with in the Board statement is that the law is part of the problem..... yes the law is an ass.....but surely if that is the problem then we all [board members included] have a responsibility to lobby to change the law...not just be pussy cats and dance to the tune of the lawmakers! Come on Board members get some balls!

23 Sep 2011 12:17a.m.

Ryan wrote:

@ Katrina - yes, and look where it's got them. NZ is a far safer county to live in than the US. They also execute 14 year olds, people who are mentally "retarded", and people who may very well be innocent. They also have much higher incidents of serious crime. A lot of research suggests that the "tougher" sentencing in the US results in a brutalization effect that results in society devaluing human life. In other words, "an eye for an eye" just leaves everyone blind.

22 Sep 2011 09:19p.m.

katrina wrote:

New Zealand is a soft touch on serious crims. In the US people clock up multiple decades of prison time.