Corrections allows murderer Phillip John Smith to wear toupee, but will appeal High Court decision

Phillip John Smith stands in the dock at the Auckland District Court, sans toupee. Photo/file

Corrections has decided to allow convicted murderer Phillip John Smith to wear his hairpiece in prison, but will be appealing the reasoning in a High Court decision on the matter.

Auckland Prison director Andy Langley is worried the court's decision on whether or not Smith should have been allowed to wear his toupee is "precedent-setting".

Smith last month took the Department of Corrections to court because it had prevented him wearing a hairpiece ever since he used one as part of a disguise to flee to Rio de Janeiro in November 2014.

At the time of his escape, he was on a temporary release while serving a life sentence for the 1995 murder of the father of a 12-year-old Wellington boy he had been molesting.

The High Court at Auckland ruled the department had failed to take into account Smith's rights under the Bill of Rights Act, and said Smith's fundamental right to freedom of expression was ignored.

Langley said Corrections will be allowing Smith to retain the toupee under certain conditions while he is housed in his "current security environment" at Auckland Prison.

"The conditions are designed to ensure the safety, security and good order of Auckland Prison. More specific details about the conditions cannot be provided to protect the prisoner's privacy," he said.

Corrections also decided today to file an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the High Court's decision.

The department's appeal is against the legal reasoning in the High Court's decision. The appeal relates to the process prison decision makers would have to follow to ensure decisions made in relation to prisoners comply with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. This includes, but is not limited to, a prisoner's right to freedom of expression.

"Corrections has concerns about the precedent-setting nature of the High Court's decision and wide-ranging effect it could have on the department's future administrative decision-making abilities," Langley said.

"The decision with respect to Mr Smith's hairpiece was separately taken and that particular decision is not the subject of the department's appeal."

Representing himself in court last month, Smith said the days after he was returned to custody were among the lowest in his life because New Zealand newspapers ran pictures of him appearing bald on their front pages.

"I felt belittled, degraded and humiliated," he said.

He told the court he began going bald in his early 20s and hairpieces gave him the confidence to present himself in public.

Smith argued prison authorities had not given him a valid reason for why he could not wear a hairpiece and used exaggerated concerns about security to justify their decision.