18 May 2017

Parole granted to repeat offender Dean Wickliffe

1:33 pm on 18 May 2017

One of New Zealand's most notorious criminals, Dean Wickliffe, has been granted parole for the sixth time after spending more than half his life in prison.

Dean Wickliffe is led away by police after being convicted of murder in May 1972

Dean Wickliffe is led away by police after being convicted of murder in May 1972 Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library collection

Wickliffe, 68, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Wellington jeweller Paul Miet 45 years ago, but the charge was later downgraded to manslaughter.

He was released on parole for the first time in 1987 and has been recalled five times after further offending.

That included kidnapping, drunk driving, aggravated robbery, and manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine.

He is one of the few people to have escaped twice from the high security prison at Paremoremo in Auckland.

The Parole Board turned him down for parole last year, saying he was not ready for release.

However, in a decision this month, it said he was ready after he going to counselling and moved into a self-care unit.

The board said it accepted that Wickliffe had had enough of prison and had nothing in common with the other prisoners, and that writing his autobiography had been therapeutic.