In the matter of the Corrections Act 1997
and
In the matter of an Application for Parole by Neville Roy Arnol
28 November 2003
(GIVEN ORALLY UPON HEARING APPLICATION)
Mr Arnol we have decided to grant you parole. In reaching that decision the Board is of the view that you should be released on parole on the 5th January 2004. The reason we are giving you that long lead in time is for you to re-adjust to outside, to make arrangements and also to avoid the problems associated with Christmas and the excessive consumption alcohol that normally takes place over that period. And noting that in the past this has got you into trouble. You have been let out on Christmas time and almost immediately you have come back into prison.
Until your release you are to avoid trouble and keep up the good work that you have been undertaking. You may very well be set up in prison, because if you commit any other prison offences, of course, your parole can be revoked.
ARNOL: I understand that.
CHAIRMAN: And it may be that the other prisoners want to set you up, jealousies etc.
We are going to impose a lot of conditions on your parole.
One will probably be that you not consume any alcohol at all. You have committed offences whilst under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The Board must give reasons for your release on parole. I have prepared some reasons and I am going to read those to you.
Yu were convicted on the 23rd April 1997 of attempted murder and breach of suspended sentence You have been in prison for a total of 11 years 3 months is are now eligible to apply for parole.
The Parole Board, when considering the application for parole, is required to consider a number of factors which are listed in Section 72, sub paragraph 4 of the Corrections Act 1997. The Board has considered all those factors.
The Board notes that the prisoner has committed a particularly horrific crime whilst under the influence of drugs. The trial Judge, when imposing sentence, took into account the nature of the crime and noted that the crime called for a heavy sentence. He therefore imposed a sentence at the top end of the scale for that sort of offence.
It is not the role of the Parole Board to question the length of the sentence imposed by the Judge or have the advantage or opportunity of hearing all the witnesses. In other words what I am saying is that it is not for us to have a second look at what the Judge said and did because we did not like the sentence, so we refuse you parole. We have got other factors to consider.
The Parole Board has noted that the prisoner had a criminal record before his conviction, however he had no convictions for serious violence or involving actual bodily injury. His previous convictions appear to be the result of drug abuse.
The prisoner has now shown remorse for his crime. A victims/offender mediation session was held on the 12th November 2003. The session lasted two hours and it has been described by the Victims Assistance Unit as a success. As you know that involved you coming face to face with your victim, the victim expressing how your crime has affected her. We have been advised of the outcome and have taken that information on board. It is to your credit that you undertook that course and of course it is also to the credit of the victim. It was very brave of her to have allowed you the opportunity of facing her because she did not have to.
In prison you have had the advantage of undergoing psychological counselling and you have undergone mood and anger management courses.
A Behaviour Management panel was appointed to assist in the management of the prisoner, that is to say to case manage the prisoner and to monitor you on a regular basis. That panel has written to the Parole Board and they have supported your application for parole.
We had the advantage of hearing from Mr Rob McCafferty who is one of the members of that panel and he spoke in your favour and also addressed questions that the Parole Board wished to raise with him.
You have had weekly contact and treatment by the Forensic Mental Health Services which has resulted in a positive change and that treatment will continue after your release from prison.
We accept that you have got a support network in the community, including your brother and a close friend with whom you intend to reside, and the Board is satisfied that satisfactory arrangements exist for you upon your release.
In summary the Parole Board considers that, provided suitable conditions are imposed, the likelihood of you re-offending is low and that the public will not be put at risk. It considers that you are more likely to rehabilitated if you are paroled on supervision rather than remain in prison until your release without any conditions or supervision, which will aid your rehabilitation.
The Board considers that suitable circumstances are in place to provide support for you upon your release. We note that you intend to, or you are considering going to TAFE and intend to continue your medical and forensic treatment. You going to be released on parole on the date that I’ve already told you – the 5th January 2004 – and there will be conditions applied.
You will remain on parole until the 14th November, 2007.
