Misconduct in prison, which could indicate a lack of remorse, contributed to convicted killer Daniel Ethan Smith being refused parole, an assessment report says.
Smith (20) was originally convicted of murder after stabbing to death 16-year-old William Lewis in Oamaru at Easter in 2010. He was sentenced in 2011 to a minimum of 10 years' jail without parole.
He appealed the sentence and in a retrial last July was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years and nine months' jail.
Having served four years in jail, Smith was eligible for parole and a hearing was conducted on October 15.
The reasons parole was declined were released in an assessment report on Monday.
Smith had five misconducts since starting his jail term, but none this year.
The misconduct pointed to high-risk areas, in particular ''conduct issues, negative attitudes towards authority and problem-solving, and the influence from negative peer associates'', the report said.
Smith needed to make positive efforts to make better decisions and have positive relations with prison staff, it said.
William's family had told the parole board they did not consider Smith was sorry for his crime.
At his hearing, Smith said he was sorry, but the board felt he was frustrated and could not express it, at least verbally.
While remorse was difficult to accurately define, behaviour in prison must play a part, the board said.
Smith was also ill-prepared for the hearing because he did not learn until late he was coming before the board.
During his time in jail, he had undertaken two programmes to help him acknowledge his offending, develop and maintain motivation, and practise good social skills.
''Sadly Mr Smith after all this time essentially remains untreated,'' the board said.
This was not all his fault, but a significant reason had been his own attitude and behaviour, the report said.
The system had also been dealing with a young person with a particular developmental problem (not identified by the board).
''That unproductive four years has not helped anyone involved in this tragedy, but hopefully if Mr Smith plays his part by co-operating with present staff thereby showing remorse, some gains for everyone can be made,'' the board said.
It was essential Smith received a psychological assessment as soon as possible and its recommendations were implemented. With his sentence ending on January 10, 2016, there was not a lot of time for productive work, the board concluded.
Smith is next eligible to be considered for parole in a year.
