No home detention for Martin

By JULIET ROWAN

Jailed euthanasia campaigner Lesley Martin has been denied home detention.

In a decision released yesterday, the Parole Board rejected an application by Martin to serve her 15-month sentence for the attempted murder of her terminally ill mother at home.

Instead, Martin, 41, will remain in Arohata Women's Prison until her statutory release date of December 13.

The board said Martin posed too great a risk to the community to receive home detention.

Martin was found guilty of administering an overdose of morphine to her 69-year-old mother, Joy, in 1999 at the High Court at Wanganui on March 31.

The verdict came after Martin wrote about the incident in her book "To Die Like a Dog" and led a nationwide campaign calling for voluntary euthanasia to be made legal.

At the time, Martin said she would not apply for home detention, despite pleas from her family and the trial judge, Justice John Wild.

But five weeks ago she changed her mind and lodged the application.

The Parole Board rejected it on the grounds Martin posed "an undue risk to the community" because she was in a position to influence others' thoughts and actions.

She could not be given home detention while she stood by comments that she would do the same thing again or help others to do the same.

Her application would only be reconsidered if she acknowledged that she had improperly broken the law and refrained from all public and media activity until her statutory release date.

In reaching its decision, the board also took into account the likelihood of Martin offending on home detention, the nature of her crime, the extent to which rehabilitation was likely to occur, the safety and welfare of the people in the house where she would do home detention, and the outcome of any restorative justice process.

Bruce Corney, spokesman for Martin's pro-euthanasia group Exit NZ, said making an example of Martin would only make Exit more motivated to continue its work.

Placing an effective gagging order on Martin by probihibiting her from speaking publicly if she reapplied for home detention went against the basic principles of freedom of speech, he said.

Martin's husband, Warren Fulljames, said he did not know the reasoning behind the board's decision and he took issue with the board saying it was concerned about the risk she poses to the community.

"I'm quite astounded, especially when you consider other cases where people are a far greater risk than Lesley would ever be."

Criminal barrister Richard Earwaker said home detention was usually only granted if the applicant acknowledged their wrongdoing and showed a willingness to rehabilitate.

- additional reporting NZPA