Parole Board Decision

In the matter of the Corrections Act 1997

and

In the matter of an Application for Parole by Corey Baker

8 July 2005

Reason for Decision

You were convicted of murder in 1992 in the Brisbane Criminal Court and were sentenced to life imprisonment. In May 2002, Blow J of the Supreme Court of Tasmania resentenced you under the Criminal Code Amendment (Life Prisoners & Dangerous Criminal) Act 1994 to imprisonment for the term of your natural life with eligibility to apply for parole 13 years after the 4 April 1992.

The Parole Board in considering your request for parole is obliged to consider a number of factors which are set out in the Corrections Act. The Board has considered all those factors and in particular the Board has considered the comments of His Honour Mr Justice Blow in re-sentencing you, namely that there was no explanation for your crime apart from depressive neurosis.

We have considered at the time of sentencing you had no prior convictions whatsoever and at the time of the commission of the offence, you were aged 19 and that you are now aged 32.

We have considered the pre-parole report which is dated the 26 April 2005 which indicates, amongst other things, that you will live with your partner who’s pregnant to you and two of her children and you will receive substantial support from your father who has had frequent contact with you whilst you have been in prison and that he lives in the town next to which you intend to reside.

That during the course of your imprisonment you have had numerous s42 releases ranging up to 48 hours and amongst those s42 releases you have included attendances at Drysdale House, 8 hours per day 5 days per week for one year.

We have considered that whilst in prison you have completed a Level 2 certificate in cookery by study at Drysdale School of Hospitality for the year that I have mentioned and that you plan to obtain a period of commercial experience in cookery before continuing with your studies in cookery and that you cannot take your cookery skills any further until you have completed that practical experience.

You are a literate person and in good physical health.

It appears that you are able to enter the workforce as a result of skills that you obtained whilst in prison and at Drysdale House and that you have the assistance of those in the hospitality industry, as indicated by the reference that we have, to enable you to achieve that end.

The Parole Board has requested Professor Saxby Pridmore, a consultant psychiatrist, to provide a report to it and a report was provided. Professor Pridmore, an expert in this area, has advised the Board that there were no psychiatric features or psychiatric disorder which would prevent you from or hinder your application for parole. Professor Pridmore has applied a risk assessment test and concluded that you must be considered as a low risk for further violence.

The Board is of the opinion that your further rehabilitation it is best achieved outside the prison system and that you are not likely to be a risk to the public given the low risk of you offending as reported by Professor Pridmore. You will be granted parole as from the 26 July 2005.

You appreciate of course that there will be conditions on parole. You should obey those conditions because if you breach your conditions you have the rest of your life that you might have to serve in Prison.