An Invercargill man involved in a vigilante murder says he now wants to attend church and live "a normal life".
Christopher James Brown was found guilty at trial of being a party to the murder of 19-year-old Jack McAllister and was initially sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
However, he and two other young killers took their case to the Court of Appeal which issued a landmark judgement in 2023 quashing the life term.
Brown was instead sentenced to 12 years’ prison with a minimum of six, which resulted in him coming before the Parole Board yesterday.
While the inmate did not seek early release, he told the panel about his plans for the future.
"I don’t want to go back down to Southland ... I want to start a new life in a different area. I want to work in construction, building houses and stuff," Brown said.
"I want to attend church and be part of that community ... just be a normal person."
In June 2017, Brown heard a rumour Mr McAllister had interfered with a young person, something the court later stressed there was no evidence to support.
He created a post on social media seeking the victim’s whereabouts and a group joined the enterprise.
One of them lured Mr McAllister to ILT Stadium Southland by offering a romantic liaison while several others positioned themselves to ambush.
Brayden Whiting-Roff stabbed the victim who then tried to escape, but Brown kicked him and the attack continued.
Mr McAllister was stabbed 14 times and later died in hospital.
The victim’s family said there had been a history of aggression from Brown and he acknowledged he and the victim had a "troublesome friendship".
While Brown took issue with some of the wider allegations against him, he offered his apologies to Mr McAllister’s loved ones.
"I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. I’m sorry for being that angry kid. I’m sorry you’ve had to face everything that I’ve done," Brown said.
So what would he have done differently if he could have turned back time, the Parole Board asked.
"Call the police instead of going on social media," Brown said.
"I shouldn’t have put myself anywhere near it."
The court previously heard the prisoner had "profound" issues stemming from his youth, which resulted in 57 foster-home placements between the ages of 3 and 6.
He was later expelled from schools and was abusing alcohol and drugs in his teens.
Brown’s core beliefs during his teenage years were bleak.
"[I thought] nobody wanted me ... My parents didn’t want me, they didn’t care about me, so why should I care about myself?"
His mother had died last year but he told the board he had managed his emotions by speaking to Corrections staff and taking their advice.
Talking through his issues had become a major focus through his psychological treatment and Brown said he had found other ways to wind down.
Board chairwoman Jan-Marie Doogue said the emphasis for Brown should now be on reintegration efforts to prepare himself for a seamless release.
His next parole hearing was set for July.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
