Killer perfect for parole reform: Lobby group

The man who raped and killed Napier schoolgirl Teresa Cormack is an ideal test case for new parole reforms, according to the Sensible Sentencing Trust.

Justice Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced Government plans to reduce unnecessary parole hearings for offenders which would reduce stress for victims of crime.

"Victims of crime will no longer need to face the very stressful prospect of parole hearings year after year, when an offender is clearly not safe to release into the community, and has made little or no effort at rehabilitation," Ms Collins said.

Changes to the Parole Act will see the maximum interval between parole hearings extended from one to two years.

The maximum postponement period for offenders serving indeterminate sentences, and determinate sentences of 10 or more years, will also be extended from three to five years.

In 2002 Mikus was found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering 6-year-old Teresa, who was killed in 1987. Her body was found in a shallow grave at Whirinaki Beach, north of Napier, a week after she went missing.

Mikus has always maintained his innocence and called for an appeal in 2008, which was turned down last year.

In a new report, the Parole Board said Mikus was considered to have a high risk of reoffending. He refused to appear before the board this February.

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said Mikus would fit the proposed five year postponement criteria perfectly.

"Teresa's family have already suffered enough, to force them to relive the trauma of annual parole hearings is barbaric and must breach every human right that ever existed," Mr McVicar said.

"We congratulate the Government for putting the rights of victims before the so-called rights of offenders like Jules Mikus. Human rights are for human beings and Mikus does not fit that category."