Should cop killers be eligible for parole?
The Herald reports:
On June 19 Matthew Hunt was meant to have dinner with his mother Diane after work.
But he never made it.
Several hours after he put on his beloved blue uniform, Constable Matthew Hunt was dead – gunned down in an Auckland street while attending a routine traffic stop.
Tomorrow his mother will present a petition to Parliament in his name and honour, calling for changes to the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002 that would see anyone convicted of murdering a police officer receive a mandatory life sentence and have their parole eligibility automatically declined. …
Diane Hunt launched a petition on July 30 – the day her son would have turned 29.
“I want no parole for the killers of police officers in New Zealand – a murder sentence here can mean about 10 years in jail and I don’t believe that’s an appropriate sentence for the murder of a public servant doing their job,” she said.
“First responders have this on their shoulders every day they go to work, they all need to get home. …
In Victoria, Australia the law was changed in 2016 to ban parole for police murderers.
In New South Wales cop killers are sentenced to imprisonment for “the term of the person’s natural life”.
Diane Hunt wants the New Zealand Government to do the same.
I was unaware that Victoria and NSW have done this. It would be interesting to ascertain if there have been any killings of police officers since they changed the law.