Convicted wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay will spend the rest of his life in prison if the lawmaker in charge of parole has anything to do with it. In an exclusive interview, Queensland's Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber revealed that even if the parole board decided to release him—which is unlikely given the tough new conditions to be legislated later this year—the state government still holds one more trump card.
Minister's Strong Stance
“My personal opinion is that he should never be released, and these laws make it very, very difficult for him to get parole,” she told 7NEWS. “He's a heinous killer, he's never shown remorse and he should never be released. Life should be life—parole is a privilege, not a right.”
Queensland's Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber said Gerard Baden-Clay should spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his wife Allison in 2012.
New Parole Laws
Under new law reforms, the parole board will have to consider victim submissions, the judge's sentencing remarks, and whether the prisoner has an anti-social or personality disorder. “Things like narcissistic personality disorder, whether they're a coercive controller, and any psychiatric or psychological assessments,” Gerber said.
The ongoing attitude by authorities that many domestic violence killings were “crimes of passion” and a one-off “snap” decision by the perpetrator without intent or premeditation was debunked by global experts in the 7NEWS hit podcast Kiss & Kill. Shortly after publishing a double episode on Baden-Clay and how his actions fit the “homicide timeline” created by internationally renowned criminologist Dr Jane Monckton-Smith, tens of thousands of people signed a petition against his possible parole next year.
A former criminal barrister, Gerber said she was tired of seeing dangerous criminals continually given parole partly because the parole board didn't need to consider victim submissions and sentencing remarks by judges.
Judicial Remarks and Reforms
In his remarks, Justice John Byrne was very clear that decision-makers should view Baden-Clay's parole applications with “scepticism.” He sentenced him to life imprisonment with 15 years non-parole, which was the maximum at the time. “The prisoner always got the opportunity to say what they thought and what they think, and quite often, if you've got a narcissistic personality disorder, they can't be trusted,” she said. “Prior to this reform, there was no statutory framework or laws around what the parole board must consider.”
Gerber said there is “no limit” to the number of restricted prisoner declarations which extends the non-parole period by 10 years, and if it's rejected by the parole board, the Attorney-General can apply for a judicial review. “So the restricted prisoner regime is being expanded so that it applies to any person sentenced to life,” she said. “Currently we have 330 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. Most of those are murderers, domestic violence killers, and paedophiles. This means that they could be held behind bars for an extra 10 years when they apply for parole.”
“The restricted prisoner framework has no limit to how many times a declaration can be made, so the parole board could make a declaration that says, for instance, Baden-Clay has to be held behind bars for another 10 years, and then when he comes back up at those 10 years, they have to consider it again. This may not be the end of the journey. There might be more reforms we need to do.”
The new laws will be enacted before the end of the year after a consultation process. “I expect there might be some opposition to these laws ... some advocates that don't hold my view in putting victims rights first,” Gerber said.
