KEY POINTS:
A teenager jailed for throwing a concrete block off a motorway overbridge killing 20-year-old Chris Currie last year is not getting any special treatment from the Parole Board, a board spokeswoman said today.
Ngatai Reweti, 15, was jailed for four years in September for the manslaughter of Mr Currie of Taupo.
He is due to appear before the Parole Board on December 22, raising the prospect that he may be home for Christmas.
He has been 16 months in custody, most of that while awaiting sentence.
No special treatment had been accorded Reweti, a Parole Board spokeswoman said.
He had not applied for special leave to be home for Christmas, but had always been eligible to be considered for parole on December 22.
His case would be considered in the usual way.
Parole was not automatically granted.
The views and submissions of the victim's friends and relatives would be given due weight in any parole considerations.
Community safety would be the over-riding concern .
Mr Currie died instantly when Reweti threw an 8kg block of concrete from a overbridge onto his car as he drove along Auckland's Southern Motorway in August last year.
Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone said he had told Mr Currie's family Reweti could be home before Christmas.
"Clearly they're not that happy about it," Mr Grimstone said.
"Chris Currie's family has the opportunity to have their say and we've given them the appropriate avenues to do that through."
Reweti must serve at least one third of his sentence before being considered for parole, including the year he spent in custody awaiting his trial.
Reweti was given a year off the sentencing starting point of six years for his early guilty plea to manslaughter and his remorse, and a year off because of his youth when he appeared for sentence before Justice Helen Winkelmann in September.
He was originally charged with murder, of which he was found not guilty and convicted of manslaughter.
The board said last year it had 3926 parole hearings, and declined 72 per cent of applications.
A board spokeswoman said there was no doubt the process was a complicated one which had an impact on many people emotionally, including victims and their families.
"However, New Zealand is considered a world leader in terms of assessing impact on victims and using that information in the decision making process."
She said that as in most cases offenders must be released at some point in time, parole acted as a safety net for the community, providing rules the offender must adhere to.
- NZPA
