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Convicted murderer Graeme Burton has had his leg amputated after being shot by police during his recapture on Saturday.
Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Cotter revealed the amputation this morning and said police were unlikely to be able to speak with Burton for up to two days as he was on medication following the surgery.
The parole board's decision regarding Burton was posted on its website today. The June 2006 decision stated: "...the Board has come to the view over the past nine months that Mr Burton's potential risk to the safety of the community is not considered to be undue..."
Burton has been charged with breaching parole, but further charges are likely to follow.
The name of the man killed on Saturday was due to be released today.
Meanwhile, the granting of parole to killers is again under fire after Burton's bloody rampage in the hills above Wellington.
Last night the Parole Board expressed its sympathy to the families of Burton's latest victims, and said a full investigation had started into why he was released.
Politicians are insisting the board must get tougher on applications for early release from prison.
Burton shot and killed a quadbiker on Saturday and three other people were wounded before police cornered him, felling him with a volley of bullets.
He is in Wellington Hospital, guarded by prison officers.
Last night it emerged that Burton apparently shot the quadbiker so he could use his body to lure other passersby.
As the man's body lay nearby, Burton called to Nick Rea and his 18-year-old daughter Kate, who were cycling along a firebreak through the rugged bushy hills behind Lower Hutt.
He shouted "there's been an accident, there's been an accident", Kate told One News.
When they stopped, Burton punched Mr Rea in the face and tossed his cellphone into the bush. As he was threatening the pair, he accidentally fired his shotgun and Kate was hit in the neck and arm.
He then took Mr Rea's mountain bike and fled along the firebreak.
The sister of Paul Anderson, the man Burton killed in 1992, says she feared for her own life when she heard he had been allowed out of jail six months ago.
She had told the Parole Board she opposed his release.
Signals
When news broke that Burton was on the run after allegedly beating a man in central Wellington, Janet Anderson said: "I said it better not be another Aramoana, but he had all the signals there - someone going off their rocker with a cache of weapons."
Politicians want to know why Burton - who escaped from Paremoremo prison in 1998 while serving a life sentence for killing Mr Anderson - was granted parole after being identified in 2004 as likely to re-offend.
A Parliamentary report into the parole decision has been ordered, and a Parole Board spokeswoman said an internal review would be done by board chairman Judge David Carruthers.
Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar called for an immediate change to the parole system which he described as "out of date, out of touch, and in utter chaos".
"We have had enough of reviews and enough of inquiries and I think it's time for action now. Innocent New Zealanders are losing their lives and that's not good enough.
"We need to get rid of parole for offenders like Burton, these guys who commit premeditated, aggravated murder."
Mr McVicar said the blame wasn't with the board which let Burton out, but with the system which allowed offenders to be released.
"We have got to accept that the parole system we have is a failed experiment. We have got to get rid of that."
National's justice spokesman, Simon Power, said the Parole Board should explain how Burton had been freed.
"The board needs to assure the public they are up to the job," he said.
"For them to make a public comment would be unusual, but this is an unusual set of circumstances which has lead to a real tragedy.
"It's another chink in public confidence in the justice system."
Even more extraordinary than Burton's release on parole was the apparent failure to follow advice that his parole should be carefully managed and under close supervision, Mr Power said.
"That obviously didn't occur. Every time something goes wrong in the Corrections area the minister calls for a report, and then nothing changes."
A Parole Board spokeswoman said: "Our primary thoughts are with the friends and families of the victims, who we give our most sincere condolences.
"This is a very, very tragic circumstance."
Government duty Minister Ruth Dyson said the case was now a police matter and it was not appropriate to make further comment.
- additional reporting NZPA
