Your views: Burton case and parole

The Sensible Sentencing Trust is calling for the parole system to be scrapped after the Graeme Burton case.

Burton was caught by police in Lower Hutt on Saturday after a manhunt. A man was shot dead and others injured as armed officers closed in on him.

Critics say the parole system is giving hardened criminals a second chance they don't deserve. What do you think?

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Here is the latest selection of your views:

Peter Walker

The Parole Board has the responsibility, and must accept they failed with Burton. The Government is doing its best to distance themselves from this issue, yet another example of their spineless shirking of duty to the people of New Zealand. The Department of Corrections say they acted responsibly - more shirking. The Police did a great job, governed as they are by the threat of the do-gooders hovering all over them. My only hope is that the extent of rehabilitation for Burton is that he is provided with a pair of crutches and a cell on the top floor. With no privileges,TV, etc. But I fear that won’t happen because another few opportunities for shirking duty still exist in this case.

Ian Lunam

Every human being deserves a second chance if they show willing to change. Burton showed willing. We do not live in Iraq and therefore we do not just hang people. The parole system is not in crisis. Burtons parole officer was a bit slack and people lost their lives as a result. This should be enough of a wake-up call to all parole officers. Every system has it’s flaws, but I would rather have this one than the alternatives.

Colin Crook

Mr. Burton should immediately be released after being given a big hug and a slap on the bum. He also needs ACC payments for loss of income and free state housing. NZ needs to free more dangerous criminals. Locking them up and expecting them to be held responsible is ridiculous. More government departments should be absolved from the responsibility of New Age experiments where public safety is a concern, just like the Parole board that freed Graeme Burton. They should be given a pay rise. The police that finally apprehended Mr. Burton should be disciplined. Shooting criminals will lead to criminals shooting cops. That two boys no longer have a father, that others have been killed and beaten is irrelevant. This has been a party political broadcast from the NZ Labour Party.

Peter de Bueger

The police force is a laugh. What police force? Its hopelessly understaffed and so called govt initiatives to increase the manpower only goes as far as replacing those who have left. For various reasons they are just not available when you want them and the community cop setup is included in that. I have waited 10 minutes once to see one but gave it away, he was to busy chatting Grrrrrrr. As for the parole board, just cant get excited about that useless lot. It is like the health Dept and all other Govt agencies. Their management systems 90 per cent wouldn’t know what day of the week let alone what time it. As long as the annual bonuses keep on coming in regardless of what happened the previous 6 or 12 months efficiency wise , Why worry, they say.

Errol DSouza

Graeme Burton and Kevin Paul are two examples of lack of proper parenting. If as reported Graeme liked to draw but fell into wrong company then it clearly is a lack of parenting skills that has not been able to channel that talent into something constructive. Go to any school today and observe the teens in the classroom or at play and you can easily pick out who are the potential criminals. Its those kids with an absolute lack of respect for the system, an over the top cool" attitude, scruffy and unkempt clothes and the use of bad language in every second word in a sentence. These kids come from the lower-middle class backgrounds , eat KFC for dinner and pies for breakfast , drink bottles of aerated drinks and probably accompany their parents to the local TAB or pokie joint to put in the weeks benefit So what else do they know!

Sarah Schreuder

The Burton case is a prime example of how our justice and Parole systems are not working. The New Zealand government needs to wake up and realise something needs to be done to punish offenders and make possible offenders think twice before committing a crime. As it stands, offenders get off so lightly that a few years behind bars wouldn’t come close to scaring my grandmother let alone the hardest of criminals. Us law abiding citizens of New Zealand cringe as we sit back and watch criminal after criminal get away with murder, almost literally.

E Cvitanovich

Those who advocate the use of the death penalty or harsher prison conditions for criminals seem to miss the vital point that in countries where people are subject to such penalties crimes are still committed. The United States, for example, where there are more people in prison per capita than anywhere else in the world and the death penalty is still legal, is one of the single most violent societies in the world. The single biggest deterrent to any potential law-breaker is the fear of being caught - not that they will suffer violence themselves at the hands of the police or the state. Promoting vigilante action or retributivism perpetuates the idea that the only difference between evil wrong-doers and up-holders of justice" is whose side you are on.

Reg

He was once an innocent child. Now he is a murderer hated by a nation. His story is a magnified reflection of the wrong in our own hearts. We fling our stones, but in doing so commit murder in our own hearts. Maybe it’s time to act in love. Reach out to the grieving family. Share some time with an innocent child.

L Bilyard

I can not begin to explain how angry I feel about this whole situation. The Sensible Sentencing Trust is completely correct. I back them 100 per cent. Garth seems to be the only person with a public voice who is speaking any sense. I can only assume most New Zealanders think the same way I do, there is no way this man should have been paroled into our community. I hope the parole board is laying awake all night feeling guilty about what they did. Laws need to be changed to makes sure this does not happen again. As soon as I read in the Herald that Burton was on the loose, I said to my partner what is the bet this ends up in some innocent person being killed. It was sticking out a mile the minute Burton stepped free and yet nobody with any authority stopped it from happening. My heart goes out to Burtons victims. I hope his new stump infects him as badly as he has infected New Zealand.

Christopher Miles

The quintessential fact is that this creature should have had a rope placed round his neck.

Debs

How typical of the police to shoot an armed, convicted killer who, in all probabilty has robbed a family of its son, husband and father, injured several other innocent members of the public, in the leg, while Steven Wallace, armed with only a golf club, who never hurt anyone was fataly shot! I’m sure it is a relief to know the police have finally grasped the concept of shooting to disable instead of to kill. Perhaps their thinking is that he will be easier to catch next time with just one leg?

Jillian

New Zealands parole system is just plain weird. Convicted murderers shouldn’t even be allowed to go through the parole reviewing process. A life sentence is for life, Burton had committed most of the crimes that you could think a human being could be capable of in this lifetime. Those that approved his parole should sit back and think twice about what parole really means. If Burton was a non-European he would have been declined for parole.

Diane

I wonder who the do gooders are, this mysterious group of people manage to have such a huge impact in our average, everyday lives and yet seem to ‘control’ what happens in our society. In all my years I have never actually met one. The Burton affair is yet another highlight of the general consensus that our lack of ability to successfully deal with societys lowlifes has once again produced an unnecessary tragedy. Everyone I come across agrees, all of the writers on here seem to agree, the media agrees, so why does the ominous do gooder still have the power? I am still at a loss as to why our justice system allows criminals to present the I was high as a kite defence, as some sort of ploy to obtain sympathy. It is not rocket science to say "ell, seeing as you have just admitted consumption of illegal substances, let’s just add another 10 years for that eh? Perhaps the top secret Parole Board and the Do Gooders are, in fact, one and the same.

Linden Proud

Surely, as people of the world, there is one thing that all of us, have been given once and nothing is surer than we will never be given another, in any shape or form. What we have been given, as I see it is nothing short of a miracle. A Human life is what we have been given, and along with it we have all been given a measure of time to spend it. No individual or group has the the right, to alter this measure of time. Life itself can be fragile, tough to bear in some cases, but everyone of us has the nitail right to see it through to its natural end. Anything else that we gain or lose is of secondary importance to life itself. Why do we set ourselves up with a set of laws? There is surely one only reason, and that is, to ensure that we can live, side by side in reasonable harmony, the alternative, would be chaos. Human behaviour, condones war, which in the main sacrifices young short lifetimes, so the rest of us can have a bigger slice of life. Our governments condone this. No person to my way of thinking, has a special right, to take, time of life, of another. As, no matter what change of ircumstance, it cannot ever be replaced, no matter what we like to try. Anyone who puts their life above another persons, by deliberately, killing them, and thereby removing there share of lifetime, should be prepared to give up any time of life that they have remaining. Why, when we see fit to sacrifice young innocent lifetimes, in time of war, do we get so self rightious, as to think we must not end the life of someone who has committed the ultimate unforgivable crime of murder. The murderer is not a superior being is he or she ? Why, do we treat a murderer with respect when he or she, has not played by the rules. Why do we support murderers, do they think we owe them something. I dont think we owe them anything other than a very fair trial, to ensure that they are guilty without doubt. If guilty a murderer should then have ended his or her own lifetime with no delay. Step One: Should be to bring back good old fashioned Hard Labour ! A final word of Caution, our system to trial a suspect is flawed. Is it possible that science can offer some further assistance, other than the personal or persuaded view of a dozen individuals.

Anthony

Too often we here about this sort of thing happening, and it is not only here in NZ but around the world. But concentrating on the here and now, there is always a lot of we will review this, no comment and a report will be done, more than often with little or no resolution and disgustingly enough with no accountability. These parole boards should be held accountable for OKing the re-entry of these animals back into society. Why would they even consider releasing someone like Burton back into the community, I could bet that would not be so quick to do so if they knew he had been living near them upon release. The government needs to legislate to allow the courts to impose harsher penalties and also to ensure that these situations are not repeated, listen to what the people are asking for! We do not want this sort of situation happening, what will it take until it is taken care of seriously, will be a case of some senior government minister losing a loved one in a similar attack? Oh and by the way - no sympathy for him losing his leg, he should be so lucky the shot did not leave him in a worst state!

Tidus Sora

Its people like this who screw up our country. The great land of long white cloud. Captial punishment is good.

Brian Miller

This scum needs to be put down. We need better detectives to hunt down these kinds of killers. NZ justice system needs a total change. This goverment is not doing anything about it, Its just sickening. Offenders have more rights then victims. Whats wrong with this country? I hope this goverment will revise and read this properly and change this disgusting justice system.

Ben Picard

Clearly the board, boasting they are professionals and able to judge things statistically, so they are off the hook, are white washing this intolerable situation. Most professionals who are engaged to perform tasks, are not infallible. The bottom-line is, Burton was not to blame, he was released and the mistake is squarely at the feet of these professionals and if there is no recourse and only explanations as to how this might have come about, then it is high time the system was changed.

Errol Dsouza

In the old days, going to jail meant spending time away from family, friends and society in general in an environment that reminded you that you were there because you committed a crime. That means all your privileges were cut off and you existed on basic things like food and toilet facilities. Nowadays, going to prison means a life of luxury including TV, a games room, gymnasium, good food, possible drugs and booze, visitors and the chance to hoodwink your senile parole officers and psychiatrists into believing you were ready for a life in the mainstream. You get released on parole, connect with your hoodlum friends, build up a cache of arms and ammo , kill and maim a couple of innocent people and then get thrown back into your life of luxury once again , this time for life. So I ask, where’s the punishment for doing the crime?

Bianca Painter

I imagine that my feelings on this tragic event are the same as my fellow countrymen. How on earth did this guy get let out into our community? When is the government, more directly, the Parole Board going to put their hands up and say sorry, we made a mistake. As a free country, we elect our Government based on how we feel they will serve us best, has the Government / parole board done their best in this case? This is not the first time they have let us down. Why are these people, the parole board and the criminals not made liable for their actions? It seems to me that some people in this country might want to look up the word liable in the dictionary. . If you think I have made a mistake putting the words parole board’ and criminal in the same context, I bet the poor family who just lost their son, father and friend does not think much of the parole board either!

Sharon Tait

Pity the police aimed low.What’s wrong? Can’t they shoot straight? This guy is a vicious killer and no amount of preparation by whoever could ever have reformed him. Preparation. What a joke. Is this parole board for real? A murderer who gets life should stay in jail for life. The parole board should be sued so as to support the family of the man killed and for payment of restitution to others who were shot and injured. ACC is a joke.The victim’s family will get $10,000.Not much for a life. But no doubt this swine will get ACC and /free state hospital treatment as well and the best artificial limb to boot! I hope he gets gangrene in his leg ,then septicaemia and dies a miserable death in jail.

Dman

Being an ex officer at the prison he was paroled from and knowing him and the management and naive parole board), I am not surprised at his release and subsequent reoffending. Unfortunately another life has been lost because of this. Life should mean life, no exceptions. Past behaviour is a great indicator for future behaviour.

Peter

The incorrectness is not the system but how it is operated by those who are supposed to make sensible decisions. For some time now we have had absolutely stupid decisions mad by various departments of Corrections and there is no accountability for their actions either as a group or individually. If any citizen took an action which resulted in another persons death, that citizen would be prosecuted for manslaughter as a minimum. The other ridiculous situation is that we now have prisons which are more luxurious than some of the offenders normal accommodation and in which they have TVs games and free board & lodgings. Prison needs to be a deterrent to encourage no reoffending. Criminals by the very fact of becoming criminals should lose their rights which normal law abiding citzens have. They should not be treated as if they are the victims of their own crimes but as perpetrators. They should have spartan facilities, they should work to help pay for the cost of keeping them, they should not be allowed any form of telecommunication with the outside world except by censored phone calls once a week. No personal contact with any visitor. And all violent offenders should serve the full term of their sentence. The death penalty needs to be reinstated in order that there can be a termination of the damage, death and destruction which is created by repeat offenders who refuse to be rehabilitated.

John Reid

There is a serious problem with the parole system. It has failed horribly. NZ Prisons are a joke. This guy should have death sentence.

Bobby Radovanovic

Convicted murderers such as him deserve nothing less than an immediate death sentence rather than costing the tax payer money. It’s money that can go where it is urgently needed, such as hospitals and not for criminals or compensation for crims in jail. The parole board alone is not to blame. The whole government needs an overhaul and a big kick up the backside.

John Tham

Fed up of reading repeatedly crime cases. Strongly and tentatively no parole for crimes committed as murderers, rapists or life imprisonment. In this country, criminal laws are not effectively punished.

Richard Hunter

Very quickly the media concentrates on this repeat killer and the fact he has lost his leg. Lets not forget the family of the man he killed during the weekend, I believe his daughters no longer have a father or his wife her husband all because Burton had an opportunity to allegedly kill again. They should have amputated that leg from the neck down.

Ian Hutchins

It seems to me, after reading all about this callous person, that he should never have left prison full stop! That the parole board let him loose on reasonably law abiding citizens indicates that the Parole Board members have brains somewhat less than normal and the old saying that he was not playing with a full deck (of cards) would likely be fitting to describe these board members. I think the opinion of most who read the excellent reporting in the "Herald" would agree with this. The entire Board needs to be dismissed and replaced by more sane average folk.

Dolly

I expect that there may be so called reformed violent criminals out in society on parole today, who are genuinely remorseful and trying to be good citizens. That said, when a person commits an unprovoked murderous attack on an innocent passerby, as Burton was convicted of, then how can society ever be compensated for that crime and how can you ever truly believe that he will be able to function as a decent member of society? Tragically another innocent passerby has paid with his life for our pathetic idea that prison is for rehabilitation. It should not be. It should be for punishment and for the protection of law abiding decent people. As for the parole board comment that Burton had been drug free for a period, what an indictment on our prison system! Time to stop all contact visits in prisons, and remove once and for all cellphones and internet connections. Prisoners have been excluded from society for their crimes, so exclude them properly!

Debbie Bailey

Why is that everyone puts the blame on the system, the Government or the Parole board when things go wrong. Get real people, a family friend says that the system failed Burton, whatever. The system did not fail him, he did this all by himself and every criminal. He knows the meaning of what is right or wrong, and he made that decision. Get over it, stop putting the blame on everyone else and take responsibility of your own actions. It is pathetic. Why are we so quick to try and put the blame on others?

Paul

I hope the amputation of Burton’s leg was done without anaesthesia and with a blunt and rusty hacksaw blade. I also wonder how many urgent noncriminal patients slipped further down the waiting list because of the poor marksmanship of the police. Once he was down they could have got in closer for the second shot to the head. Now Burton will very likely receive ACC funding for the loss of one leg for the balance of his criminal existence and be given special care and benefits in prison due to his handicap. Those set free by the parole board and re-offend should be personally supervised and cared for in their own homes by those who released them.

Norm and Evelyn Vranjes

My wife and I reckon the police should be reprimanded for not putting a bullet through Burton’s head. Those on the parole board have to be sacked, fired, discharge instantly, no severance pay or any bonuses, kicked right up their collective backsides, never to be paid one cent ever again of our and other taxpayers money.

Andy Cawston

There are no shortage of people whose bleeding hearts would extend the privilege of parole to every offender. Some would even envisage a day when the likes of Burton, Bell, and others of their ilk could be productive members of society. So what? Why should they be allowed? What of the Victims? What of the safety of society? Why should Parole be a right, an expectation? Surely it should be an exception: an extension of Grace, something extraordinary, to be deserved and earned and thereafter justified forever by a life dedicated to good works, eschewing evil. Those who advocate parole are irresponsibly extending compassion without having a personal stake in the game. It is cheap, do goody goody points that they will never personally have to account for. Of course the Parole Board is to blame. So are the politicians who allowed it to be. And so is every do gooder who makes excuses for this travesty. And most importantly, so is the offender. All should be held to account.

Bernard Ivory

It seems to me that a life sentence already includes a built in parole period of the difference between the prisoner’s life expectancy at sentence and 10 years (the nominal ‘life’ sentence). Unfortunately, life has acquired some quirks under the Sentencing Act 2002: 56. The Act provides that life imprisonment is now the maximum penalty for murder rather than the mandatory penalty, however, a strong presumption in favour of its use remains (section 102). Finite penalties are only available for murder if a life sentence would be manifestly unjust. 57. If a life sentence is imposed the minimum term of imprisonment is 10 years. However, this may be increased if the circumstances are considered to be sufficiently serious (section 103). The Act also introduced a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for murders committed where certain aggravating factors are present (section 104). All power to the Sensible Sentencing Trust!

Sue

Yet again the feeling of uselessness engulfs me. My family has been robbed of a special person by a man who decided to murder her and two others. Yes he did make that decision as do all other murderers. No excuses, they decided to commit the act, they decide to take the drugs that I often hear said made them do it. Drugs, as is alcohol are a tool, and every time the person partakes in either or both they make a decision. Addiction or no addiction, they still have a choice as to continue or seek help, so when the person decides to partake then they alone must face the consequences of their actions. Some can never be rehabilitated, there has to be willing. Most of these people are void of a conscience therefore willing is not part of their make up. I believe the parole board to be extremely naive and appointed because of their sympathetic view towards the current Government. I believe it goes without saying that until some or one or all of these people have been personally affected by the death of someone close to them at the hands of someone else, then they will continue to make mistakes, because the release of Burton was a mistake. The members of the parole board who made the decision need to front up to the family of both Karl and Burton to apologise. No explanation will be good enough, so apologise in person, see and feel the grief, take responsibility for your decision, and let substantial compensation be made in haste to Karls family.

Bobby Radovanovic

Convicted murderers such as him deserve nothing less than an immediate death sentence rather than costing the tax payer money. It’s money that can go where it is urgently needed, such as hospitals and not for criminals or compensation for crims in jail. The parole board alone is not to blame. The whole government needs an overhaul and a big kick up the backside.

Chris Doherty

This guy made Saddam look positively PC. The out of touch politically correct do gooders that make up the parole board all get to climb into their BMWs and Mercedes and then make the arduous drive back to their manors where they can read about the problems of the ordinary people (common folk)from up high on a Sunday morning. The dark insidious sickly environment that is prison breeds contempt for law abiding civilians and their hard earnt property. This awful place called prison is where daily survival and constant vigilance and protection from hideous rape by other inmates is the norm. This is where your meanness and ability to hurt others is an asset. Now how can anyone re-habilitate in that environment? More to the point how can the parole board be so blind and stupid to assume a mean hardened remorseless proven killer, can be anything else?

Brendon Cullen

The parole system is the wrong way around. Serious and violent offenders should be on parole for a period of time after serving their full judge imposed sentence, with strictly monitored conditions to allow effective community integration. Surely the judge imposed the length of sentence for a good reason. That is why they’re paid handsomely. Early release for good behaviour is illogical. What does it matter if a prisoner behaves well after their serious or violent crime? Bad behaviour in prison can and should be effectively and humanely dealt with through removal of privileges such as extra food, television, visitors and other items that seem to be easily accessible in prison - drugs, porn and cellphones. Notice I never used the word punish. That is apparently a crime these days as well.

Mike Fenton

The only thing this clown deserved was to have his head amputated. Nothing will change and it will be another case of no is responsible for anything. We will have the obligatory inquiry which is a must for cases like this. The PC spin doctors will smooth out the rough edges and it will be long, drawn out, expensive and meaningless. Meanwhile some poor family has to live with the consequences of some one elses mistake not forgetting that there could have been more fatalities.

Kathryn Bennett

What will it take for the Government to start being tough on serious offenders? An innocent person to die. Oh wait that has already happened over and over again. We need to start dishing out tougher penalties for serious crimes. A slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket isn’t enough. When someone is sentenced to life imprisonment, it should mean life. From the day they enter jail to the day they die. (Not a measly 15 years and out in 8 with good behaviour) Maybe that might make people stop and think before they commit a serious crime. The victims of these criminals have a life sentence of pain and suffering remembering the horrible disturbing things that happened to them. So isn’t it fair that the person who commits these crimes should also face the rest of their life remembering and paying for their horrid actions. Do the crime, do the time.

Jon Eriksen

We seem to have repeat incidents of horrendous crimes being committed by criminals on parole. These people have not complying with their parole conditions for quite some time, the warning signs have been there but nobody in authority has seen them. I suggest the issue is not the parole system itself, it is resourcing it so that it has a chance of working. The parole system cannot decline to accept cases discharged from prison, but they are under resourced and unable to carry out their duties.

Michael Keane

I must agree however how many times have we heard that the people who commit these terrible crimes are on drugs and yet is appears that we are doing nothing about the drug dealers. If we had the same punishment as Malaysia or Thailand I doubt if we would have a problem. If the law will do nothing about them then it is up to the individual to step in, We are talking about our future. The young people if we destroy them we have no future.

Peter John James

My opinion is that the armed offenders squad are poor shots, the head would have been a better target.

David H

That a repeat offender should have anything remotely resembling rights is grotesque. I would have thought that in committing a felony such as murder, the perpetrator relinquishes all and any rights to freedom, or anything else, including pain and suffering, or whatever the Bleeding Hearts would like to call it. What this country needs is to get rid of the notion of perpetrator as victim. We have too many laws, and not enough justice.

Anne E van Duren

This latest tragic episode seems to verify the ability for a person to successfully manipulate their behaviour for extended periods of time in a way to mask their true ulterior motives. This event seems to prove he was smarter than the government agency supposedly assessing his mental state, as he obviously reverted to previous aggressive behavioural pattern as a convicted criminal. Conclusion: Do not offer parole to convicted criminals, ever. How would a government or private agency ever think they could ever consider unscrambling eggs (rehabilitating a criminal mind)? Why should the public bear the brunt of this poor sense of judgement?

Mahesh

I feel the responsibility starts from home; criminals are not born, they learn crime. Why do these people, think that the system should have been stricter with these guys, then these people would not have committed the crime? Why should the public, government & authorities be responsible for someone elses fun and the resultant crooks? These parents make them crooks, murderers, burglars, rapists, etc. And we pay taxes too so that this rascal can have a good life in prison They should be shot dead in police encounter, He should have been shot in the throat, heart and head and left in the mud to rot.

Gerry

I can not emphasise enough how much I would like to see this animal executed. But were going to fix up his leg [taking valuable resources away from people who contribute to our society]then spend millions more on court cases, and five star accommodation for another 15 years in the blind belief that this will accomplish something. I wish all the do-gooders saying our corrections system is adequate and fair were made financially accountable for cases like this or even better suffer at the hands of one of these sociopaths personally and then see if they still stand on their moral high horse. I dont care if these repeat aggravated offenders are high on P or came from a bad home or their father died when they were five years old. The only cure for these vermin and our already burdened society is for these class 1 criminals to be eliminated as inexpensively and quickly as possible. M