Murder suspects on bail ‘extremely scary'

More than 100 people charged with killing others have been released on bail in the past two years, new figures show.

Five percent of those suspects were convicted of further offences while on bail.

Ministry of Justice figures released this week reveal 101 people charged with murder or manslaughter were bailed in the two years to December 31. Forty-eight were murder suspects.

The figures, released under the Official Information Act, show 24 murder suspects were bailed last year and the same number the previous year.

In 2006, those bailed accounted for 40% of the 60 people arrested on suspicion of murder. The courts also bailed 53 people accused of manslaughter in the two years.

Of the total murder and manslaughter accused released into the community, five were convicted of further, but mostly less serious offences while on bail.

The father of a 2-year-old girl murdered by a man allowed to live at home while charged with an earlier killing said the number of murder and manslaughter suspects granted bail was ‘‘shocking''.

‘‘It's extremely high and extremely scary,'' said Brad Morrissey, whose daughter Aaliyah was murdered by Tauranga man Michael Curran while he was on bail for killing 24-year-old Natasha Hayden.

Mr Morrissey said people charged with murder should not be allowed bail because of the risk to others.

‘‘If they bail accused murderers back out into society pending murder trials, then hell, the same thing [that happened to Aaliyah] might happen to someone else.''

Curran was sentenced last Friday for the September 2005 murder to a minimum of 20 years and six months in prison. The judge took into account Curran's conviction for killing Ms Hayden nine months earlier in handing down the lengthy term.

Mr Morrissey said the courts needed to take the same approach to bailing suspects in serious crimes as was taken to safety in the workplace - make it ‘‘a number one priority''.

Among current high-profile murder suspects on bail is Chris Kahui, accused of killing his twin baby sons, Chris and Cru, in June 2006. He was released to a Northland address last month despite five previous breaches of his bail conditions.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust said the amount of reoffending on bail by murder and manslaughter suspects was likely to be higher than the Ministry of Justice figures suggested.

Spokesman Garth McVicar said many offences committed on bail in the past two years would still be before the courts, meaning they would not have been counted in the figures as convictions had not been secured.

He said the trust, which opposes bail for violent and repeat offenders, had also received an increase in reports of suspects reoffending on bail since changes to the Bail Act were introduced in October.

In the past, defendants only had to pose a ‘‘risk'' of reoffending, absconding, or interfering with witnesses to be denied bail, but now they must pose a ‘‘real and significant risk''.

Opposition leader John Key has vowed to reverse the changes, which he says have made it easier for people such as Kahui to get bail.

District courts acting general manager Lianne Egli said the five murder and manslaughter defendants convicted of reoffending on bail in the past two years had mostly committed minor, non-violent offences, such as traffic offences, disorderly behaviour and failure to answer bail.

Under the Bail Act 2000, there had to be ‘‘just cause'' to detain a defendant, she said.

‘‘The risk posed by a defendant must be weighed against any factors that would make it unjust to detain him or her, such as a likelihood that the time spent remanded in custody will be longer than any sentence likely to be imposed on conviction.''

However, while it was a fundamental principle of the criminal justice system that a person was innocent until proved guilty, it was important to incapacitate those likely to threaten public safety or the administration of justice.

‘‘The legislation demands that primary consideration must be given to the safety of the public and the victims,'' Ms Egli said.

Judges were also obliged to consider whether bail conditions such as curfews, could reduce any risk posed by a defendant to an acceptable level.

The Bail Act contained more stringent provisions for defendants with criminal histories, including a history of offending on bail.

Those charged with serious ‘‘specified'' offences, including murder and manslaughter, and who had previously been convicted of a specified offence had to satisfy a judge that bail should be granted.

Add a Comment