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Home / New Zealand

Killer driver's jail term over

By Matthew Backhouse
Wairarapa Times-Age·
28 May, 2013 06:58 PM3 mins to read

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A drink-driving killer who will be released from prison next week shows "a chilling disregard for the law" and threatened to cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet, the Parole Board says.

The Parole Board has set conditions for Gavin Hawthorn, 50, who is due to be released from Rimutaka Prison on Tuesday after serving a 10-year sentence for manslaughter.

The conditions include that he is not to enter Wairarapa, where his offending occurred, without the prior written approval of his probation officer.

He is banned from driving or owning a vehicle, or possessing or consuming alcohol or drugs.

The conditions will be imposed for six months after his release, but cannot legally be imposed any longer.

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Hawthorn had two crashes which claimed four lives, including that of Lance Fryer, who was killed in a high-speed crash in Greytown in June 2003.

In its written decision, released yesterday, Parole Board panel convenor Alan Ritchie noted Hawthorn had said he would "simply cut off the bracelet" if electronic monitoring was imposed.

The board had considered if it should impose GPS monitoring as had been requested by the Department of Corrections.

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But the board decided against it after Hawthorn's lawyer, Judith Fyfe, argued it was disproportionate and must be imposed only to address a specific risk.

In its decision, the board said there were potential human rights concerns with monitoring.

"We can understand the department's motivation for making the application.

"Nevertheless, we cannot be satisfied that the situation existing today warrants a condition with such an impact on liberty and which can, in any event, be in place for six months only as the law stands."

Mr Ritchie noted Hawthorn's extensive criminal history, which included eight terms of imprisonment dating from 1979 for crimes including burglary, theft, drugs, violence, disorderly behaviour and non-compliance.

"The record is extensive and serious, betraying a chilling disregard for the law. There has been atrocious driving resulting in the deaths of four people in consequence of two such instances."

The board noted Corrections' concern over his relationship with his partner, to whose address he will be released.

Hawthorn's lawyer had said he deeply regretted the offending and had been prepared to undertake treatment programmes in prison, for which he was denied.

There had been no problems with his behaviour in prison and his lawyer noted his "courageous intervention" to stop an attack on an officer by another prisoner.

Hawthorn's release conditions include that he must live where directed and must not contact his victims' families.

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He must also see a psychologist and undertake any treatments recommended.

In 2004, Hawthorn was sentenced to 10 years' prison with a minimum non-parole period of six years for the manslaughter of Mr Fryer.

Hawthorn's car reached speeds of up to 167km/h shortly before another car pulled out in front and Hawthorn lost control. The car slammed into a power pole, killing Mr Fryer.

The crash was less than 1km from the scene of his first fatal crash in 1989. The then 26-year-old crashed into an oncoming vehicle, killing his passengers Peter Gay and John Kaukau, and injuring people in the other car.

One of those occupants, Bob Stevens, died of a blood clot after surgery.

Hawthorn has been denied parole three times, the last in 2011. APNZ

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