No body, no parole

The Herald reports:

A National MP wants to see no parole for convicted murderers if they don’t reveal the location of their victim’s body.

While it could be popular with the public a law expert says the “no body, no parole” Member’s Bill is unnecessary and risks punishing those wrongly convicted.

And the Government has labelled the policy as “dog whistle politics”.

Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe, who lodged the bill, says it will help with bringing closure to those who have lost their loved ones.

“Sadly, there are some offenders who refuse to disclose where the bodies of their victims are.

“This adds considerably to the distress of relatives who sometimes spend a lifetime agonising over what might have happened, and their inability to hold a funeral and lay their family member to rest.”

Macindoe said he was not worried the bill could see wrongfully-convicted prisoners locked away for life, as it did not make it mandatory for the parole board to deny parole.

The Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill would require the Parole Board to take into account a prisoner’s refusal to reveal the location of their victim’s body when considering whether they should be released.

Scott Watson would be pretty unlikely to get parole, if this law passed. Mind you, I think he is pretty unlikely anyway.