NZ's first privately-owned jail opened in 2015. Then-Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga invoked one of the world's most famous prisoners, Nelson Mandela, when he opened a new prison at Wiri. "No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails," the minister said, quoting Mandela.
He said New Zealand was at a crossroads. "Do we really want to lock up our prisoners and throw away the key?" he asked. "Do we really want to write off most of our most disadvantaged citizens?"
Warning: Distressing content
A prolific violent offender who humiliated, starved, stabbed, strangled and raped his Wiri Prison cellmate during seven months of torture has been ordered to serve an indefinite sentence because releasing him into the community in his current state would be too much of a risk.
Rene Francis Thomas, 43, appeared in the High Court at Auckland today after jurors found him guilty last year of seven counts involving the same victim, a child sex offender he shared a bunk with in 2019. He could have faced up to 20 years’ imprisonment had he been given a finite sentence for sexual violation, strangulation, assault with intent to injure, injury with intent to injure and assault with a weapon.
But Justice Jane Anderson noted he continues to have a lack of insight into his offending, he scored well above average on a psychopathic checklist and he has been resistant to group counselling in prison that could aid his rehabilitation. Preventive detention, she ruled, would give him an incentive to address his issues.
The former cellmate - no longer at the prison, also known as the Auckland South Corrections Facility - sat in court today as the sentence was imposed.
“You were the worst cellmate ever,” he said in a written victim impact statement that was read aloud by the detective in charge of the case. “You are a monster.”
The torture included near-daily beatings for what were described as minimal or non-existent infractions that would send Thomas into a rage. The victim lost between 30 and 40kg, he said, because Thomas would routinely eat both of their meals.
The judge described their 230 days together “a living hell” in which Thomas controlled when the cellmate could shower and use the toilet and would humiliate him by ordering him to “strip dance in front of you for hours on end”. On other occasions he attacked the cellmate with an electrical cord from his radio and stabbed him below the eye with a plastic knife, resulting in bleeding and a scar.
On yet another occasion, he smashed the cellmate’s head against his knee after the man got down off the top bunk - against Thomas’ wishes - due to a “crook stomach”. He forced the man to wear a beanie so that prison guards wouldn’t catch on. The rape occurred after Thomas strangled him from behind, causing him to lose consciousness, as he was about to take a shower one day.
“I want people to know what kind of person you are,” the victim said, adding that he still suffers PTSD and persistent headaches as a result of the attacks. “I now live with a consistent reminder of you...
Rene Francis Thomas appears for sentencing in the High Court at Auckland after a jury found him guilty last year of attacking, starving and sexually assaulting his Wiri Prison cellmate in 2019. Photo / Jason Oxenham
“You have had a seriously negative impact on my life. You are a vicious and wild individual ... I hope you never get out of prison again. You are a danger to society.”
Thomas boasted of domineering over his cellmate in recorded calls with his partner from the prison phone, which the judge described as “frankly chilling” and as giving an insight into his “controlling and self-entitled” personality.
Authorities suggested his tendencies towards aggression, and this victim in particular, appeared in part to be a result of Thomas’ own unresolved childhood trauma.
Preventive detention is aimed at people who pose a significant and ongoing risk to public safety. People can be released when the Parole Board determines the risk has been reduced but they are managed by Corrections for the rest of their life and can be recalled to prison at any time.
In addition to the preventive detention, Justice Anderson ordered today that Thomas serve at least six years’ imprisonment before he can apply for parole.
Defence lawyer Peter Kaye had asked for a finite sentence, suggesting that his client was more of a risk to fellow inmates than the public at large.
“The problem seems to be when he’s confined ... and preventive detention is hardly going to cure that,” he said.
Corrections has to carry some of the blame, he suggested, for not detecting the abuse earlier. He asked the judge to suggest to Corrections that his client receive one-on-one counselling while serving his term. While resistant to group therapy, he is willing to participate in a more intensive therapy focusing just on himself, Kaye said.
Prosecutor Ned Fletcher, however, noted Thomas has a long history of offending that included 58 convictions prior to the offences he was sentenced for today. He served six terms of imprisonment and has been incarcerated for eight-and-a-half of the past 13 years, he noted. While offending against the current victim, he was serving a sentence for kidnapping and assault that required surgery.
“His offending is diverse, but it’s also escalated markedly over time,” he said, pointing to sentencing reports dating back 20 years that indicate Thomas was aware of his rehabilitation needs but has failed to address them.
If he doesn’t actively participate in treatment, his risk of reoffending will remain high, Fletcher said.
The judge agreed.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
