An Invercargill killer whose life sentence was quashed in a landmark judgement has been granted parole saying he is now a “more understanding” man.

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 non-parole period of six years, which resulted in him being able to apply for parole on Wednesday.

His original sentence was imposed on December 10, 2018.

He sought release to an “intensive reintegration service” in the South Island which he could go to in September.

Brown said during his time in custody he had matured and changed from the “arrogant idiot” he once was to a “calm, smarter and more understanding” man.

He was sorry for the pain he had caused to Mr McAllister’s family.

“I know that my words will never change anything that I’ve done in the past. For me, I am sorry for what I’ve done to [the victims],” he told the Parole Board.

Lawyer Fiona Guy Kidd, KC, argued her client was ready to be released as he had demonstrated “excellent behaviour in prison” and had “fantastic support” in the community.

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.

On June 7, 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 at the time there had been a history of aggression from Brown and he acknowledged he and the victim had a “troublesome friendship”.

Yesterday, Brown told the board Mr McAllister did not deserve to die.

“It should never have gone that way at all, I never imagined or intended it to go through the way that it did,” he said.

“It was only meant to be a fight and that’s it, he wasn’t meant to get stabbed.”

Board member Prof Susanna Every Palmer asked Brown what he would do if he found himself in a situation where he might react violently; for example, if someone he cared about was hurt or disrespected.

“Instead of putting that Superman cape on that I used to have, I’d be there in a more supportive human role, not the ‘I’m the Terry tough guy role’,” he answered.

He knew release from prison would not be easy, but would lean on his support people for help when he needed it, he said.

“I do admit that going to a new environment will be challenging and it will be scary,” Brown said.

“But I know that for me to progress into a better life, it will mean getting out of my comfort zone.” 

Another mechanism he used to calm down was listening to country music, he said.

Brown was determined to remain sober and stay away from negative influences, he said.

“I know that drugs and alcohol aren’t the thing for me. I know where it leads to … for me it’s staying away from that whole avenue,” he said.

Once he was released he would like to get a building apprenticeship as he had enjoyed learning about construction while in prison.

Multiple support people attended Brown’s hearing yesterday and they all applauded when the board decided he could be released on September 2.

Brown would have to attend a monitoring hearing with the board in January next year.

The board suppressed comments made to them by the victim’s family.

felicity.dear@odt.co.nz