Numbers come up in prisoner's favour

Prisoner Stephen Christopher Jonathan David Voight and Judge Philip Moran agreed on something yesterday. Arithmetic.

Judge Moran jailed Voight for three years and nine months and imposed a 24-month minimum non-parole period 2 1/2 months ago.

That sentence was on top of a five-year jail term he was already serving.

In the latest bout of offending, Voight pleaded guilty partway through a depositions hearing on some of the charges in Ashburton.

He was later sentenced in Christchurch on charges of intimidation, trespass, possession of offensive weapons (knives and an axe), assaulting a woman, threatening grievous bodily harm, threatening to kill and kidnapping a woman.

The 33-year-old Mt Somers man had punched a woman, threatened to kill her young son, refused to leave an Ashburton address where he was tapping knives on a bench, and demanded a woman go with him to Mt Somers.

She went, fearing for the welfare of children at the house.

But the Prison Service later noticed a technical problem with the sentence.

Judge Moran explained it to Voight yesterday. "I'm sorry it was necessary to get you back, but I fouled up the non-parole periods I imposed."

He had totalled all the sentences and then imposed the 24-month non-parole period, which was within the maximum two-thirds allowed.

But the law says he can impose it only on sentences of more than two years and some of the sentences were much shorter than that.

There was only one sentence long enough to qualify and it was 30 months, so the minimum non-parole period had to be reduced to 20 months.

The judge added up all the time Voight has had to serve while in custody on remand and serving his sentences and worked out that the minimum period was 45 months.

"If you have done more than 45 months, then the minimum non-parole periods have expired," said the judge.

Voight agreed. He plans to see the Parole Board very soon.

- NZPA