Parole and Graeme Burton

Didn’t the Parole board fuck up the Graeme Burton case? Parole is an important control mechanism to get good behavior out of violent people, it creates a vested interest for good behavior within prison, IT SHOULDN’T be used as a way to free up prison beds in our over stretched, under funded, over crowded prison system, which seems to be the case in Burton’s parole board decision. What this does underline is how our prison systems are not set up in any way shape or form to rehabilitate people, an issue that will be missed in the sensible sentencing clamor for harder and harsher prison conditions.

My heart goes out to the family of the people Burton has hurt and also killed, they will justifiably want to know why Burton was released when his own Parole Board was not convinced of his character, they will not want to hear about under funding and the important process parole creates for prisoners trying to become better people, those families will not want to hear those excuses, they have loved ones hurt or dead and such excuses sound hollow when no one will accept responsibility for the reason why our prison systems are so fucked up, add to that a public mindset that loves to punish, no matter the environment that creates or the people it creates.

And finally, I have to wonder at the media feeding frenzy that erupted after the Police raided Burton’s house right after he had broken Parole conditions and beaten up a guy at a Wellington apartment. The skeleton news crews manned mostly by graduate media students would have wet themselves when this story broke on a slow news day that allowed a parole breaker to become whipped up as the most dangerous man in NZ. The cops themselves seemed to have been surprised by the lead story behemoth they had let loose, the next day the cops were trying to appeal directly to Burton to come in for a ‘chat’, almost recognizing that the intense media attention was akin to cornering a dangerous animal. I can’t help but wonder what the outcome of this awful little encounter would have been if the media had reported responsibly on what was at the time simply an assault case and a guy who had broken his parole conditions, questions will have to asked at how responsible it was to parade Burton’s stash of weapon porn on primetime TV and how this may have set Burton off. This whole mess just seems to have been so avoidable.

Burton freed despite failure to prepare him
The Parole Board decided to release convicted murderer Graeme Burton despite knowing he had not gone through gradual "home leave" reintegration as it had requested.

The board said the lack of home leave was disappointing, but still went ahead and granted Burton parole after taking the view that his potential risk to the community was not "undue".

Burton remained in hospital yesterday after surgery to amputate his leg, which was damaged when he was shot by police at the weekend.

He had just gone on a bloody rampage in hills near Wellington, allegedly shooting dead one man and injuring several others.

The case has raised several questions about the Parole Board's decision to free Burton, but yesterday it had little to say in response.

A spokeswoman said none of the six people who made the Burton decision would comment and the chairman, Judge David Carruthers, was not available. He is reviewing files and decisions relating to Burton's release in July last year after 14 years in prison.

Burton was ruled unsafe for release in 2004 because he was regarded as being at a high risk of reoffending.

But by September 2005 his behaviour had improved. While refusing to release Burton, the board in 2005 noted that his conduct in prison over the previous two years had been "impeccable".

Burton had not been involved with drugs and had "no incidents" while in prison, the board said.

Prison officers even noted Burton showed "excellent behaviour in spite of severe provocation", and was able to handle the frustration of being denied temporary outings.

The board said Burton had "insight into his own offending", had done all of the courses available to him and done them well. But it emphasised that Burton needed temporary releases to ensure he had the ability to handle life back in the community.

Six months later, the board assessed Burton again and noted he had taken part in three escorted outings.

But the six-member panel, which was different from the one that had assessed Burton in 2005, felt it could not release him without first seeing an updated psychological assessment, something which hadn't been done for two years.

Subject to that assessment, the board resolved to release Burton on July 10 last year. It hoped he would be given home leave to gradually reintegrate into the community before then.

On June 28 last year the board made the final decision to release Burton, despite the home leave not taking place.

It also said Burton's psychological assessment referred to an "unsubstantiated allegation" for which the board had not received a report.

The incident was not mentioned in a pre-release report from Burton's prison.

"In those circumstances it would be wrong for any board to take such matters into account when assessing risk," the board said.

It was decided that Burton would be released in July and be on parole for life, with several special conditions.

The board asked Burton's probation officer to closely monitor him for any signs of relapse.

These included any use of substances, association with those involved in criminal activity or substance abuse, withdrawal from support people or supervision, persistently negative mood or attitude, compulsive behaviour, financial problems or accommodation instability.

The board has expressed its sympathy to Burton's latest victims and said its main priority was now any court trial following the weekend's events, as well as investigations into the decision to release Burton.

Burton, like any person who suffers an acute injury, is eligible for urgent treatment in a public hospital. Anyone imprisoned is not entitled to any form of compensation from ACC, apart from treatment for their injury.

The Corrections Department said it had a responsibility to ensure all prisoners' health and dietary needs were met, including the specific needs of any prisoners with a disability such as an amputation.

Cells were specifically designed for the needs of disabled prisoners, and their health was closely monitored.

PAROLE CONDITIONS

Conditions of Burton's life parole, which were to remain in place for two years after his release on July 10 last year, were:

* He had to live at a particular address, or one approved by the probation officer.

* For the first month at least, a person whose name has been withheld was to live at the same address.

* Burton could not leave a particular region without written approval from the probation officer.

* He had to undertake employment or employment-related training, but was not allowed to be in the tattoo business without approval.

* He had to undertake a psychological assessment and any treatment recommended as a result of that assessment.

* He had to attend a maintenance group, following on from an already completed programme.

* He had to attend any other counselling or programmes aimed at reducing his risk of reoffending, as directed by the probation officer.

* He was not to associate with any person specified in writing by the probation officer.

* He was not to make contact with the victim's family without the approval of the probation officer.