Murderer claims Corrections is breaching his rights over hairpiece
Convicted murderer and sex offender Phillip John Smith has argued in court that it was a breach of his human rights when Corrections took away his hairpiece.
He told the High Court at Auckland on Monday he was left humiliated when his baldness was revealed through national media as a result. He also argued that his hairpiece was an ‘‘artwork’’ that was protected by the right to freedom of expression.
Smith previously wore a toupee, but it was confiscated by Corrections after he fled to South America in November 2014, using an illegally obtained passport. He was caught in Brazil nine days later.
Smith had been serving a life sentence for a murder in Carterton in 1996. He sexually abused a child when he was 17, and returned at the age of 21 to kill the child’s father.
Smith was on temporary release when he disappeared to South America – and is now serving a further 33 months in prison for that escape.
He suggested that Corrections confiscated his hairpiece as ‘‘payback’’ for the humiliation his escape had caused senior officials.
‘‘[They decided] he can go before those cameras, and he can be mocked and ridiculed, because that is what he deserves,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Being singled out for special treatment is arbitrary and discriminatory. They failed to treat me with humanity and respect.’’
Smith, who represented himself in court, told the court the hairpiece was originally designed to help with his self-esteem and self-confidence.
Justice Edwin Wylie pointed out that Smith’s circumstances had changed since then, and he was now considered a high-risk prisoner due to his escape.
Defence lawyer Vicki Mccaw argued for Corrections that human dignity and liberty were not the same thing, and prisoners were not entitled to the same freedoms as regular members of the public.
Smith acknowledged that he was now a high-risk prisoner but said there was a low risk of his hairpiece being used to cause harm or smuggle contraband.
Justice Wylie reserved his decision.