Life imprisonment in New Zealand

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Life imprisonment has been the most severe criminal sentence in New Zealand since the death penalty was abolished in 1989, having not been used since 1957. [1]

Contents

Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment must serve a minimum of 10 years imprisonment before they are eligible for parole, although the sentencing judge may set a longer minimum period or decline to set a minimum period at all (meaning the offender will spend the rest of their life in prison). Released offenders remain on parole and are subject to electronic tagging for the rest of their life. [2]

Life imprisonment in New Zealand for crimes other than murder is relatively rare. Of 941 life sentences imposed since 1980, only seven have been for crimes other than murder – one for manslaughter in 1996, one for an act of terrorism in 2020, and five for drug offences in 1985, 1996, 2008 (two) and 2009. [3]

Offences

Life imprisonment is the mandatory sentence for treason. It is the presumptive sentence for murder, being mandatory unless in the circumstances it would be manifestly unjust. Life imprisonment is an optional sentence for aircraft hijacking, [4] Class A drug dealing, [5] manslaughter [6] and terrorism. [7]

Life imprisonment for murder

The imposition of life imprisonment for murder is codified in sections 102 to 104 of the Sentencing Act 2002. [8]

102 Presumption in favour of life imprisonment for murder

(1) An offender who is convicted of murder must be sentenced to imprisonment for life unless, given the circumstances of the offence and the offender, a sentence of imprisonment for life would be manifestly unjust.
(2) If a court does not impose a sentence of imprisonment for life on an offender convicted of murder, it must give written reasons for not doing so.
(3) [Repealed]

103 Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment or imprisonment without parole if life imprisonment imposed for murder

(1) If a court sentences an offender convicted of murder to imprisonment for life it must,—
(a) order that the offender serve a minimum period of imprisonment under that sentence; or
(b) if subsection (2A) applies, make an order under that subsection; or
(2) The minimum term of imprisonment ordered may not be less than 10 years, and must be the minimum term of imprisonment that the court considers necessary to satisfy all or any of the following purposes:
(a) holding the offender accountable for the harm done to the victim and the community by the offending:
(b) denouncing the conduct in which the offender was involved:
(c) deterring the offender or other persons from committing the same or a similar offence:
(d) protecting the community from the offender.
(2A) If the court that sentences an offender convicted of murder to imprisonment for life is satisfied that no minimum term of imprisonment would be sufficient to satisfy 1 or more of the purposes stated in subsection (2), the court may order that the offender serve the sentence without parole.
(2B) The court may not make an order under subsection (2A) unless the offender was 18 years of age or over at the time that the offender committed the murder.
(3-6) [Repealed]
(7) Subsection (2) is subject to section 104.

104 Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment of 17 years or more

(1) The court must make an order under section 103 imposing a minimum period of imprisonment of at least 17 years in the following circumstances, unless it is satisfied that it would be manifestly unjust to do so:
(a) if the murder was committed in an attempt to avoid the detection, prosecution, or conviction of any person for any offence or in any other way to attempt to subvert the course of justice; or
(b) if the murder involved calculated or lengthy planning, including making an arrangement under which money or anything of value passes (or is intended to pass) from one person to another; or
(c) if the murder involved the unlawful entry into, or unlawful presence in, a dwelling place; or
(d) if the murder was committed in the course of another serious offence; or
(e) if the murder was committed with a high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity, or callousness; or
(ea) if the murder was committed as part of a terrorist act (as defined in section 5(1) of the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002); or
(f) if the deceased was a constable or a prison officer acting in the course of his or her duty; or
(g) if the deceased was particularly vulnerable because of his or her age, health, or because of any other factor; or
(h) if the offender has been convicted of 2 or more counts of murder, whether or not arising from the same circumstances; or
(i) in any other exceptional circumstances.
(2) This section does not apply to an offender in respect of whom an order under section 86E(2)(b) or (4)(a) or 103(2A) is made.

Circumstances where life imprisonment might be deemed manifestly unjust include mercy killings, suicide pacts, and "battered defendants" who were subjected to "prolonged and severe abuse". [9]

There is no minimum age for imposing life imprisonment. The youngest people sentenced to life imprisonment in New Zealand were aged 13 years at the time of the offence. [10]

Case law

Longest minimum periods of imprisonment

A sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole has been given only once, to Brenton Tarrant for the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019. [11] The longest minimum period of imprisonment on a sentence of life imprisonment with possibility of parole is 30 years, currently being served by William Dwane Bell.

Sentences imposed with a minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years or more or with no possibility of parole include:

LengthOffenderDate of offenceDescription
No parole Brenton Harrison Tarrant 15 March 2019Committing the Christchurch mosque shootings, involving 51 murders, 40 attempted murders, and engaging in a terrorist act.
30 years William Dwane Bell 8 December 2001Murder of three people and attempted murder of a fourth during an armed robbery at the Panmure RSA clubrooms. He was initially jailed for a minimum period of 33 years, which was reduced by 3 years on appeal. [12]
28 yearsPaul Russell Wilson7 April 2018Murder of Nicole Tuxford. He had murdered his girlfriend Kimberley Schroder in 1994 and killed Tuxford while on parole. [13]
27 yearsRussell John Tully1 September 2014Murder of two staff members and attempted murder of a third at the Ashburton Work and Income office. [14] He also received an 11-year sentence for the attempted murder and 4 years for firearms-related charges, served concurrently. [15]
27 yearsEli Bob Sauni Epiha19 June 2020Murder of police officer Matthew Hunt and attempted murder of another police officer as they went to assist at a car crash. [16]
26 yearsGraeme Burton6 January 2007One murder, two attempted murders and eight other offences – two aggravated robbery, two of kidnapping, two of using a firearm against a law enforcement officer, aggravated injury and injuring with reckless disregard – during a shooting spree in the Wainuiomata hills. He was also sentenced to preventive detention with a non-parole period of 26 years for the ten secondary offences. [17] He had murdered a man in 1992 and was on parole in 2007. [18]
25 yearsBruce Howse4 December 2001Murder of his stepdaughters, 12-year-old Saliel Aplin and 11-year-old Olympia Jetson, at their Masterton home. Reduced from 28 years on appeal.
24 yearsTony Douglas Robertson24 May 2014Murder of Blessie Gotingco. [19] He was on parole from a prison sentence for abducting and molesting a 5-year-old girl.
23 yearsLiam Reid15 November 2007Murder of Emma Agnew in Christchurch. Reduced from 26 years on appeal.
23 yearsJason SomervilleSeptember 2008, August 2009Murder of neighbour Tisha Lowry in 2008 and his wife Rebecca Chamberlain in 2009, burying both bodies under his home in Christchurch. [20]
23 yearsJeremy McLaughlin10 November 2011Murder of 13-year-old Jade Bayliss by strangulation while burgling her Christchurch house, before trying to cover up the murder by setting fire to the house. He had previously been in a relationship with Bayliss's mother but the relationship ended after conflict between him and Jade. He also received 8 years for the burglary and 4 years for arson, served concurrently. He had previously been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in Australia for the 1995 manslaughter of 14-year-old Phillip Vidot. [21]
23 yearsJoseph James Brider22 January 2022Murder of Juliana Herrera while on parol for an earlier rape. [22] [23]
21 yearsHayden McKenzieLate 2003Murder of Jae-hyeon Kim. He had murdered James (Janis) Bambrough in 1999 and had already served four years for that, so will serve a total of 25 years before being eligible for parole. [24]
21 yearsKamal Gyanendra Reddy2006Murder of his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter. [25]
20 years 6 monthsMikaere Puata-Chaney15 July 2022Murder of his ex-partner and her father. [26]
20 years Mark Lundy 29 August 2000Murder of his wife Christine and seven-year-old daughter Amber at their Palmerston North home. Increased from 17 years on appeal. The Privy Council quashed Lundy's convictions in 2013 and ordered a retrial. In 2015, Lundy was re-convicted of the murders and re-sentenced to the earlier 20-year minimum imprisonment.
20 yearsDavid Konia27 May 2005Murder of Margaret Waldin and Ted Ferguson at Ferguson's Feilding home. Konia died on 14 January 2015 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer a year earlier. [27]
20 yearsSiuaki Lisiate5 March 2020Murder of fellow prisoner Blake Lee. He was previously convicted of the murder of fellow prisoner Tue Faavae in 2009 and the wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm of fellow prisoner Graeme Burton (see above) in 2019. [28]

Antonie Dixon was given a minimum term of 20 years for the murder of James Te Aute on 21 January 2003, but the conviction was later quashed. He was re-tried and reconvicted, but committed suicide in his prison cell before he could be re-sentenced.

The longest minimum period for a woman is 19 years, currently being served by Tracy Jean Goodman for the murder of pensioner Mona Morriss in the course of a burglary in Marton in January 2005. [29]

Preventive detention

There is also provision for an indefinite sentence of preventive detention, which can be given for sexual or violent crimes for which life imprisonment is not available (preventive detention can be imposed alongside life imprisonment, for example, where convictions for sexual or violent crimes accompany a murder conviction). Since the Sentencing Act 2002 came into force, this has been given to repeat sexual offenders and serious violent recidivist offenders. Preventive detention has a minimum period of imprisonment of five years, but the sentencing judge can extend this if they believe that the prisoner's history warrants it. The sentence of preventive detention was first introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 1954. [30]

The longest minimum period of imprisonment on a sentence of preventive detention is one of 28 years, which was given in 1984. [31]

Related Research Articles

Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted criminals are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives. Crimes that warrant life imprisonment are extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated property damage, arson, hate crime, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide.

The year and a day rule is associated with the former common law standard that death could not be legally attributed to acts or omissions that occurred more than a year and a day before the death.

Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term of imprisonment for certain crimes, commonly serious or violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are instituted to expedite the sentencing process and limit the possibility of irregularity of outcomes due to judicial discretion. Mandatory sentences are typically given to people who are convicted of certain serious and/or violent crimes, and require a prison sentence. Mandatory sentencing laws vary across nations; they are more prevalent in common law jurisdictions because civil law jurisdictions usually prescribe minimum and maximum sentences for every type of crime in explicit laws.

In Canada and England and Wales, certain convicted persons may be designated as dangerous offenders and subject to a longer, or indefinite, term of imprisonment in order to protect the public. Dangerousness in law is a legal establishment of the risk that a person poses to cause harm. Other countries, including Denmark, Norway, and parts of the United States have similar provisions of law.

In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons to convicted persons. The royal prerogative of mercy was originally used to permit the monarch to withdraw, or provide alternatives to, death sentences; the alternative of penal transportation to "partes abroade" was used since at least 1617. It is now used to change any sentence or penalty. A royal pardon does not overturn a conviction.

A habitual offender, repeat offender, or career criminal is a person convicted of a crime who was previously convicted of other crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enhanced or exemplary punishments or other sanctions. They are designed to counter criminal recidivism by physical incapacitation via imprisonment.

Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non-punitive purposes, most often to prevent further criminal acts.

In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases a judge may impose a "whole life order", meaning that the offender is never considered for parole, although they may still be released on compassionate grounds at the discretion of the Home Secretary. Whole life orders are usually imposed for aggravated murder, and can only be imposed where the offender was at least 21 years old at the time of the offence being committed.

Causing death by dangerous driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as Hong Kong. It is an aggravated form of dangerous driving. In the UK, it was created by section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and in Hong Kong it was created by section 36 of the Road Traffic Ordinance.

In judicial practice, back-to-back life sentences, also called consecutive life sentences, are two or more consecutive life sentences given to a convicted felon. This practice is used to ensure the felon will never be released from prison.

Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment with no definite period of time set during sentencing. It was imposed by certain nations in the past, before the drafting of the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT). The length of an indefinite imprisonment was determined during imprisonment based on the inmate's conduct. The inmate could have been returned to society or be kept in prison for life.

In Germany, life imprisonment has an indeterminate length and is the most severe punishment that can be imposed. A person sentenced to life imprisonment may normally apply for parole after having served 15 years. If the parole court rejects the application, the inmate may reapply after a court determined blocking period no longer than two years. If the court has determined a "severe gravity of guilt" exists, parole is delayed for a non-specific period beyond 15 years.

Life imprisonment in Canada is a criminal sentence for certain offences that lasts for the offender’s life. Parole is possible, but even if paroled, the offender remains under the supervision of Corrections Canada for their lifetime, and can be returned to prison for parole violations.

In Finland, life imprisonment is the maximum criminal penalty. In actual practice, life imprisonment rarely lasts for the remainder of a convict's life; it currently consists of imprisonment in closed prison and possible periods of imprisonment in a halfway house, supervised parole and full parole. The death penalty was abolished in Finland in 1949 for peacetime offences and for all offences in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal sentencing in Canada</span> Overview of criminal sentencing in Canada

Canadian criminal law is governed by the Criminal Code, which includes the principles and powers in relation to criminal sentencing in Canada.

In Canada, homicide is the act of causing death to another person through any means, directly or indirectly. Homicide can either be culpable or non-culpable, with the former being unlawful under a category of offences defined in the Criminal Code, a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada that applies uniformly across the country. Murder is the most serious category of culpable homicide, the others being manslaughter and infanticide.

Sentencing in England and Wales refers to a bench of magistrates or district judge in a magistrate's court or a judge in the Crown Court passing sentence on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. In deciding the sentence, the court will take into account a number of factors: the type of offence and how serious it is, the timing of any plea of guilty, the defendant's character and antecedents, including their criminal record and the defendant's personal circumstances such as their financial circumstances in the case of a fine being imposed.

The New Zealand Parole Board is an independent statutory body established in 2002 that considers offenders for parole. Its task "is to undertake an assessment of the risk that long-term sentenced offenders might pose to the safety of the community if they were to be released before the end of their sentence". The Board also sets conditions of release for offenders so their reintegration back in to the community can be effectively managed. Once the conditions are set it becomes the responsibility of Community Corrections to manage the offender." 'Long term' is defined as more than 24 months. Short-term prisoners are automatically released after serving half their sentence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010</span>

The Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010, now repealed, was an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that denied parole to repeat violent offenders, and imposed maximum terms of imprisonment on repeat offenders who commit three serious violent offences - unless it would be manifestly unjust. The law was known informally in New Zealand public, media and government circles as the "three-strikes law".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life imprisonment in Singapore</span> Legal punishment in Singapore

Life imprisonment is a legal penalty in Singapore. This sentence is applicable for more than forty offences under Singapore law, such as culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping by ransom, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons, and trafficking of firearms, in addition to caning or a fine for certain offences that warrant life imprisonment.

References

  1. ↑ "Here's What's Happening in New Zealand 25 Years After Abolishing the Death Penalty". Mic. Apr 13, 2015. Retrieved Nov 10, 2019.
  2. ↑ "FAQ". New Zealand Parole Board. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Adults convicted in court by sentence type - most serious offence calendar year". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Aviation Crimes Act 1972, section 3
  5. ↑ Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, section 6(2)(a)
  6. ↑ Crimes Act 1961, section 177
  7. ↑ Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, section 6A
  8. ↑ "Sentencing Act 2002 No 9 (as at 22 December 2016)". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  9. ↑ Chhana, Rajesh; Spier, Philip; Roberts, Susan; Hurd, Chris (March 2004). The Sentencing Act 2002: Monitoring the First Year (PDF). pp. 13–14. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "New Zealand's youngest killers". 3 News NZ. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Mead, Thomas (27 August 2020). "Breaking: Christchurch mosque killer sentenced to life without parole". 1 News. TVNZ. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "Record sentence for RSA murders". Television New Zealand. February 13, 2003. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  13. ↑ "Double murderer Paul Russell Wilson 'unlikely to ever be released'". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  14. ↑ "Life sentence of Work and Income killer Russell Tully". 3 News. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  15. ↑ R v Tully,[2016]NZHC1133(27 May 2016).
  16. ↑ Owen, Catrin (10 December 2021). "At least 27 years in jail for Eli Epiha who murdered Constable Matthew Hunt". Stuff . Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Independent Police Conduct Authority Report into the Shooting of Graeme Burton. Wellington: Independent Police Conduct Authority. 2008. p. 45. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Watts, Jerram (19 February 2010). "Burton sentenced to preventive detention". 3 News. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  19. ↑ R v Robertson,[2015]NZHC1849(6 August 2015).
  20. ↑ Leask, Anna (23 May 2010). "'House of Horrors' transcript - a lurid tale of death and sex". Herald on Sunday. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  21. ↑ R v McLaughlin,[2013]NZHC2625(9 October 2013).
  22. ↑ Leask, Anna; Sherwood, Sam (1 February 2023). "'Psychopathic' convicted rapist Joseph Brider sentenced for murder of Juliana Herrera in her Christchurch home". The New Zealand Herald.
  23. ↑ Van Beynen, Martin; Kenny, Jake (1 February 2023). "'A person's worst nightmare': Joseph Brider jailed for at least 23 years for brutally murdering neighbour". Stuff.
  24. ↑ "White supremacist had killed before". Otago Daily Times. NZPA. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  25. ↑ R v Reddy,[2016]NZHC1367(22 June 2016).
  26. ↑ Owen, Catrin (27 July 2023). "Life imprisonment for Head Hunter who shot and killed ex-partner and father". Stuff . Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  27. ↑ King, Kathryn (21 February 2015). "Double killer David Konia's death shocks families". Manawatu Standard . Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  28. ↑ Gay, Edward (9 December 2021). "Blake Lee Murder: Siuaki Lisiate gets at least 20 years added to sentence". Stuff . Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  29. ↑ "Female murderer to appeal record sentence". The Dominion Post . 7 May 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  30. ↑ Gavaghan, Colin; Snelling, Jeanne; McMillan, John (2014). Better and Better and Better? A Legal and Ethical Analysis of Preventive Detention in New Zealand (PDF). University of Otago. p. 9.
  31. ↑ Offenders on Indeterminate Sentences (PDF). Topic Series. Wellington: Department of Corrections. 2014. p. 5. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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