Door is open to prisoner compo
The Government is keeping all options on the table - including compensation - for prisoners who were found to have been jailed for too long, Prime Minister John Key says.
However, Key says the Government may also consider retrospective legislation to sentencing laws, after a Supreme Court ruling that the department had been misinterpreting Parole Act provisions around ‘‘time served’’.
The Department of Corrections last week released 21 inmates, with some 500 others to have their release dates brought forward following the court’s decision.
Lawyers for some of the affected prisoners have suggested they could make compensation bids.
Key said Cabinet had discussed the court ruling and its implications, but was waiting for Crown Law to provide legal advice before it made any decisions.
The Court of Appeal had backed Corrections’ interpretation of the law in a number of cases since the law was changed in 2002, he said.
‘‘It isn’t, if you like, an error by Corrections - it’s the legal interpretation, the way the courts believed it should be interpreted.’’
Key said it was ‘‘a possibility, but I wouldn’t say necessarily a probability’’, that the Government would seek to pass retrospective legislation fixing the problem.
‘‘In principle, I think you can certainly put up the case to say the government of the day thought this was the way the law should apply, it was tested on numerous occasions and the courts interpreted it the same way, and now out of left field we’ve got a different decision.’’
However, Key would not rule out the possibility of compensation for the prisoners, saying: ‘‘There’s just a big range of options but that’s potentially one.’’
The landmark Supreme Court decision found all periods of detention must be taken into account, from the time of arrest on any charge, until an offender was sentenced to jail.
A Parole Board spokesman said although there would be some changes to parole eligibility dates it was ‘‘business as usual’’.
Affected inmates whose parole dates approached would still have to face hearings, and some could remain in custody if deemed an undue risk to the community.