ScottWatson denied parole for third time
Convicted murderer ScottWatson says he is not as arrogant as he used to be, but the Parole Board has ruled his failure to complete treatment means he’ll stay behind bars.
Watson, now 49, was convicted of murdering Ben Smart, 21, and Olivia Hope, 17, after a New Year’s Eve party in the Marlborough Sounds in 1998. More than two decades later, Watson still insists he is innocent. Watson, flanked by a Department of Corrections officer and lawyer Kerry Cook, appeared before the Parole Board at Rolleston Prison yesterday.
A narrow table separated the three chairs from whereWatson’s case manager and three support people sat. They all faced the three members of the parole panel, who sat behind a desk on the opposite side of the small room.
Watson, who was wearing a dark-blue Corrections sweatshirt, placed a small stack of documents on the desk in front of him and appeared calm as he listened to his lawyer’s submissions.
Cook told the boardWatson had somewhere suitable to livewhen he was released, and that he had strong family support to help him reintegrate into society. Cook said several restrictions could be used to mitigate any risk, such as having Watson electronically monitored.
Watson was willing to abide by any conditions the board deemed necessary, including not speaking to the media, Cook said.
Watson said he wasmore mature now and not as arrogant as he used to be. He was willing and able to work when he was released, and had the opportunity to do so.
Parole Board chairman Sir Ron Young said previous parole decisions set out several risks that needed to be addressed before Watson’s release, and he needed to engage with psychological services to determine what treatment was needed. ‘‘It seems that you kind of got stuck on the first bit and have not progressed to identifying what treatment would be appropriate,’’ Young told him.
Watson said he had attended eight sessions with a psychologist and indicated he was willing to address his risk factors, but the psychologist ‘‘wouldn’t engage’’.
He said he was expected to confess to the murders and explain the crime, and if he did not do this he could not participate in rehabilitation programmes.
A family member saidWatson was ‘‘caught in a vicious cycle’’ where the Parole Board told him to get appropriate treatment, but Corrections told him the treatment was not available to him.
Young said there were many people in prison who proclaimed their innocence and there were several treatment options available for them. Watson was asking to be released in the hope it would work out, but the parole process went the other way around.
‘‘The risks need to be tempered before someone is released.’’
One ofWatson’s support people saidWatson had aspirations for his life outside prison. ‘‘He is a good human.’’
Watson was hoping to spend his life with his partner, with whom he had been in a relationship for the past 16 years, when released.
The board refusedWatson’s parole, saying the ‘‘ball was in his court’’ to work with Corrections and psychologists to complete the necessary treatment. He would appear before the board again in November next year.
ScottWatson’s father, Chris Watson, said it was ‘‘the most benign parole hearing’’ he had been to. ‘‘It was quite positive, really. It was just, ‘not now’.’’
Watson last sought parole in 2016, and was stood down for four years before being able to appear again, something his father described as vindictive. To have the next hearing in November was better, but he was left with a hollow feeling in his stomach.
‘‘It’s not the best that could happen, but it’s not the worst.’’
ChrisWatson was not able to speak with his son, ‘‘but I dare say he’s disappointed’’.
In the meantime, there was a Court of Appeal hearing to look forward to next year, and applying for bail before that remained an option, he said.
Smart and Hope disappeared on January 1, 1998, after seeing in the new year at Furneaux Lodge.
Watson, who was 26 when Smart and Hope disappeared, was convicted of their murders in May 1999 following a three-month trial and sentenced to at least 17 years in jail.