19 Aug 2010

Double-murderer John Barlow granted parole

12:21 pm on 19 August 2010

Double-murderer John Barlow has been granted parole and will be released from prison next week.

Following two trials which ended in hung juries, Barlow was found guilty at a third trial in 1995 of killing father and son businessmen Gene and Eugene Thomas in their Wellington offices the previous year.

He was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 14 years and has always protested his innocence.

In 2009, the Privy Council in London dismissed Barlow's appeal against his conviction for the murders.

On Wednesday, the 64-year-old went before the Parole Board for the fourth and final time at Rimutaka Prison. During the hour-long hearing, the board told Barlow he had now done enough to secure a prison release.

Board members quizzed Barlow about his prison employment in Porirua and how his five recent home visits have gone. Psychological reports place him as a low-risk prisoner.

Members of his family, including his wife Angela Barlow, were at the hearing and maintained their strong support for his release, as did his lawyer Catherine Milnes.

The Parole Board decided he can leave Rimutaka Prison for his Pukerua Bay home, near Porirua, towards the middle of next week, subject to six special conditions. These include no contact with former inmates or victims, and no possession or ownership of firearms.

Conviction an injustice, says daughter

John Barlow's daughter, Keryn Barlow, says his release from prison next week does not right the wrong.

Ms Barlow, who has studied criminology and is writing a book on the case, says she knows her father did not murder the Thomases and it is a huge injustice that he has to live his life with this conviction.

Angela Barlow says the news is an amazing relief and there have been many setbacks over the years in trying to have her husband released.

Mrs Barlow told Checkpoint Barlow is two years past his minimum parole period and has been able to show he will fit back in at home with several periods of leave from prison.

She says she would rather there were not special conditions on his release, but he will follow them carefully.

A spokesperson for the Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society, Graham Page, says while Barlow is more fortunate than the many inmates who leave prison with no money or support, it could be hard for him to adjust if he truly believes he was unjustly convicted.