Editorial: Gray free and living in Kamo

Arthur Alexander Gray's release has not surprisingly come as a shock to the mix of lifestylers and farmers living in the semi-rural road where Gray's portable cabin has sprung up.

Gray, 51, was released from jail on Wednesday and is living in the cabin on a block of land on Lake Ora Rd, near Kamo.

He had been denied parole before he completed his sentence - and fears are still held that he is highly likely to reoffend. He has a history of paranoid delusions, and violent offending.

The circumstances around his attempted murder of a backpacker in Nelson in 2003 are not detailed in Parole Board documents but are described as "bizarre".

Chillingly, Gray attacked the backpacker 11 days after being released from prison on parole, after serving time for aggravated robbery. It has also been revealed in parliament that Gray killed a fellow prisoner whilst in prison. However, Gray was not charged with any offence arising from the inmate's death, which suggests self-defence was a consideration.

This time, the Parole Board had no choice but to release him as he had completed his latest prison sentence.

Clearly there is a legislative gap that does not allow prisoners considered high risk to be held in prison.

Gray does not appear to have been rehabilitated, and he has been released at ongoing cost to the ratepayer. The Department of Corrections - with help from police - is monitoring Gray who is subject to nine special release conditions for six months.

Those conditions include Gray being referred to a psychologist within 72 hours of his release on Wednesday, for support to help him deal with life's stressors.

He is also subject to a curfew and has to remain at the Lake Ora Rd property between 8pm and 8am.

Effectively, Gray's nine-year sentence appears to have achieved little other than protect the general public from him. Shouldn't it be that prisoners can only be released if there are mitigating factors - ie signs of rehabilitation.

And that aggravating factors - no signs of rehabilitation - should be able to be used as argument for extending a sentence? A judge gave Gray nine years for his last offence, based on what the judiciary knew at the time. Let's hope that Gray is not given a new sentence any time soon for a tragic lesson Northland was forced to learn.