New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Hayden Joseph TAYLOR

Hearing: 3 November 2020

at Auckland South Corrections Facility

Members of the Board: Sir Ron Young (Chairperson), Mr J Thomson, Mr P Elenio, Dr J Skipworth

Counsel:                                            Ms E Burton

In Attendance:                                  (withheld) (Case Manager)

(withheld) (Psychologist)

Support Persons: (withheld)

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Taylor, who is 44 years of age, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.  Originally, he was also sentenced to preventive detention for an earlier rape.  He was on bail for the rape when he committed the murder.  The preventive detention sentence was subsequently amended to a finite period of imprisonment because Mr Taylor had not qualified for preventive detention when it was imposed.  Mr Taylor was first imprisoned in 1996.  Other than the convictions we have mentioned, that is of rape, kidnapping and murder, he has no other convictions.
2. When we saw him last in 2017 there was consideration being given to a postponement order.  The hearing was conducted in 2018 and the postponement order granted backdated to the original hearing in 2017 for a period of three years.  At that stage, the Board discussed in some detail the sexual element of the murder identified by the sentencing judge based on the facts available to the sentencing judge.  They expressed concern that the rehabilitative work that had been done with Mr Taylor including the Adult Sex Offender Treatment Programme and the STURP did not adequately meet the kind of sexual deviancy illustrated at the time of the murder.
3. Mr Taylor has always denied any sexual activity associated with the murder.  We  proceed on the basis that the sentencing judge was correct and that there was a significant sexual element in the murder involving worrying  sexual deviancy.
4. As to the current position, Mr Taylor has worked his way through a lengthy process and has finally qualified for Release to Work.  Currently, no work is available.
5. We have psychological reports, both from Corrections and a private psychologist.  Both take a broadly similar view that essentially the sexual assault associated with the murder does not affect their current assessment of his risk because of the treatment he has completed in the Adult Sex Offender Treatment Programme.
6. In the Board’s decision in 2018 relating to the postponement, the Board made it clear that it did not necessarily accept that Mr Taylor’s risk arising from the sexual assault during the murder was adequately reduced as a result of the treatment he had received.
7. We take the same broad view, but we accept that currently there is no likelihood of further rehabilitation being provided to Mr Taylor in the absence of his acceptance of the sexual aspect of his offending rising from the murder. In those circumstances, to convince us he is no longer an undue risk, Mr Taylor  would show his reintegration plan was such that any risk arising from our concerns would be significantly reduced.
8. Accordingly, in those circumstances, we think the appropriate course now is as follows:

(1) We think Mr Taylor needs a significant period of reintegration.  We have said without further rehabilitative treatment significant effort will need to be put into reintegration to satisfy us his risk is no longer undue.

(2) As to accommodation, there have been difficulties about arranging for a referral for accommodation by Corrections.  This process should now begin.  However, we express our concern about release for Mr Taylor ultimately to a short-term accommodation provider, even if supportive such as (withheld) or (withheld). Our current view is that a longer-term release proposal with significant support would be appropriate.  The original suggestion had been of a possible release to (withheld) address in (withheld).  We make it clear that would not be a possible release address.  Firstly, there are victims in this area and, secondly, given this very serious murder occurred near that area, it would be wholly inappropriate for a release to take place there.

9. He remains an undue risk we will see him again by the end November 2021.