In the matter of the Corrections Act 1997
and
In the matter of an Application for Parole by John Patrick Lyons
22 November 2005
We have considered your matter, Mr Lyons. On the 6 September 1991 you were convicted of murder and you were sentenced to life imprisonment. You sought to be resentenced and you received a sentence of twenty three years with a fourteen year non-parole period.
Of course the crime that you committed was a very serious crime, one of the most serious crimes that one can commit, and the Court sentenced you accordingly for this particularly vicious crime.
We are obliged to consider a number of matters under the Corrections Act. We have considered those matters but one of the more important matters we are required to consider is whether or not you are likely to be a danger to the public. We have obtained a psychiatrist report from Dr Saxby Pridmore dated the 19 October 2005. Amongst other things he sets out your background and indicates that you have almost finished your course as an electrician and you have been offered employment upon release from prison.
You had some alcohol and cannabis use problems in the past. We note however that consumption of alcohol and cannabis do not play a part in the crime for which you were convicted.
In prison you have been active, you have used your time in prison to the best effect. As I said you have almost completed an electrician’s course. You have also joined the fire crew and fought in a number of major fires. You have been a useful member of the fire crew and of course a useful member to society by participation in the fire crew.
As part of your training as an electrician which commenced seven years ago you have attended TAFE four days per week for seventeen weeks during the first year and one day per week for the next two years. This indicates that you are able to go out into the community and not get into trouble. This combined with the number of S42 releases that you have had where you have had half a dozen 48 hour releases indicates, as I said, that you are able to go into the community and not be any problem and that augers well for the future.
We think that you are likely to be rehabilitated back into the community. You have had job offers and you’ve been remorseful and recognised your problems.
The psychiatrist has indicated that you have got no psychiatric disorders and you are not likely to commit an offence as a result of a psychiatric disorder.
We also regard your behaviour in prison as exemplary and that you have done everything one can do in prison.
We have taken into account the Victim Impact Statement which shows the effect of this horrific crime upon those people however we do not think that any useful purpose would be served by you remaining in prison.
We have also taken into account the large number of references that you have, and the pre-parole report dated the 30 August 2005. We note that in the pre-parole report it states that you are to live with your long term girlfriend who is also employed part-time. We are satisfied that you have suitable accommodation.
In summary you are likely to be rehabilitated back into the community and provided you obey the strict parole conditions that we will place on your parole you are unlikely to commit another offence particularly as you have employment and everything to lose if you do commit another offence.
You will be released on parole on the 8 December 2005.
