Smith likely to return voluntarily

The HoS reports:

Runaway killer Phillip John Smith will voluntarily return to New Zealand to escape harsh conditions in the Brazilian jail system, says his lawyer.

Smith was transferred from the notorious Ary Franco Prison to the Bandeira Stampa public jail, part of the Gericino Penitentiary Complex – the largest public prison in Brazil – on Friday.

If the 40-year-old sex offender chooses to fight his extradition to New Zealand, he could face several months in a dangerous and basic South American prison.

Smith boasted from Brazil that New Zealand would have considerable difficulty getting him back – if they caught him.

But given the conditions behind bars, lawyer Tony Ellis said he expected his client would voluntarily return to New Zealand, rather than go through an extradition or deportation process.

That would be good.

When he is back in NZ, he will face further charges, but to some degree they are meaningless. He is already on a life sentence, and I think his actions have shown he should never get parole, so hopefully he can fade to a distant memory.