When a country abolishes capital punishment, abolitionist will make you believe that it will only have ‘life without parole’. However, as time passes, people forget how horrible the past was and life will never mean life. Here is a quote from Thomas Sowell, “People who claim that sentencing a murderer to "life without the possibility of parole" protects society just as well as the death penalty ignore three things: (1) life without the possibility of parole does not mean life without the possibility of escape or (2) life without the possibility of killing while in prison or (3) life without the possibility of a liberal governor being elected and issuing a pardon.”
Here are some cases in Australia where murderers either appealed their sentence or get released from prison:
Child killer paroled after 16 years
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Boy killed with hammer: Austin Hughes (Sydney Morning Herald)A man who helped bash his girlfriend's six-year-old son to death has been granted parole after 16 years in a New South Wales jail.
Austin Hughes was sentenced to 19 years in jail with a minimum of 14 years for the bashing murder of six-year-old John Ashfield at Nowra.
Hughes and the boy's mother killed him by placing his head on a telephone book and repeatedly hitting him with a hammer.
Hughes was refused parole in 2007 and again in 2008, but this morning the New South Wales parole authority found it was satisfied he should be released because he has expressed remorse and has strong family ties in the community.
On hearing the news, the victim's sister Melissa Ashfield left the courtroom in tears after mouthing to Hughes 'you are dead.'
Ms Ashfield was three years old when she witnessed the murder.
"The people that do drugs, they get to stay in there for life," she told reporters outside the court.
"But someone who murders my six-year-old-brother, that makes me and my brothers watch for over two-and-a-half hours, gets to get out? Where's the justice in that?"
Ms Ashfield said she did not believe Hughes had shown genuine remorse.
"If he had remorse, he could've easily said to my brothers or write a letter to any of us. But has he? No," she said.
"The only time he's remorse is when it comes up to his parole. That's the only time he's remorseful.
"That's the only time he's sorry. He's sorry that he's got caught and sorry that he had to be in there."
Vic court orders new Dupas trial
17:56 AEST Thu Sep 17 2009
Peter Dupas will face a fresh trial for the cemetery stabbing murder of Melbourne woman Mersina Halvagis after Victoria's Court of Appeal quashed his conviction.
George Halvagis, father of murdered woman Mersina, expressed shock in court. (AAP)
Dupas had appealed his conviction over the killing of 25-year-old Ms Halvagis, arguing the judge erred in some of his directions during his trial.
Dupas was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for the murder of Ms Halvagis, who was stabbed while she tended her grandmother's grave at Fawkner Cemetery.
In a majority ruling on Thursday, the Court of Appeal quashed Dupas's conviction, set aside his sentence and ordered a new trial.
Dupas was not in the court, and will be held in custody until the fresh trial.
Ms Halvagis's family was present in the court and one supporter whispered "it stinks" when the ruling was read.
The Halvagis family left the court without commenting to reporters.
The Court of Appeal had allowed the ruling by a 2-1 majority.
Justices Geoffrey Nettle and David Ashley ruled there should be a new trial because some of the trial judge's directions about witness identification of Dupas were inadequate.
They held that the judge should have given more detailed directions to the jury about factors that could have affected witnesses' ability to reliably identify him.
However, Justice Mark Weinberg believed the judge's directions were adequate and Dupas's conviction should stand.
During the appeal hearing, Dupas's lawyer had argued a number of witnesses who met a man at the cemetery on the day of the murder only identified him as being Dupas after seeing media images of him.
As a result, their identification evidence was tainted and could not be relied upon, he said.
Justice Nettle said that now a fresh trial had been ordered, Dupas was presumed innocent.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal rejected by majority a submission the trial judge erred by failing to permanently stay the trial because of pre-trial publicity.
The court also unanimously rejected that the judge's directions about evidence relating to a prison informer were inadequate.
It also unanimously rejected that the judge's charge to the jury was unbalanced and that the jury verdict was unreasonable.
The Supreme Court trial will occur at a date to be fixed.
Daniel Valerio's killer Paul Leslie Aiton makes bid for freedom from jail
- By Mark Buttler
- From: Herald Sun
- September 14, 2010
THE hulking thug who beat little Daniel Valerio to death in one of Australia's most shocking child abuse cases will make his bid for freedom tomorrow.
Paul Leslie Aiton has served 18 years in prison for the murder of his two-year-old stepson and he wants to be out by November.
Daniel's death, after months of savage violence by Aiton, led to the introduction of mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse in Victoria.
Almost two decades after his death, Daniel's battered face remains a symbol of ineptitude by authorities who were supposed to save him.
He died after his internal organs were crushed when he was punched by Aiton at their West Rosebud home.
Daniel's grandfather said he hoped Aiton felt remorse. "He was a lovely kid," Ian Ottway said.
Aiton's bid for freedom sparked a plea for authorities to warn single mums about starting relationships with child beaters.
Child Wise executive director Bernadette McMenamin said mothers who began relationships with offenders should be told by authorities of their background.
Adult Parole Board general manager David Provan said members would consider reports and recommendations from Community Correctional Services before making a decision on Aiton. Aiton, 49, will not appear in person.
The 188cm tall killer - who weighed 105kg at the time - was later to say he "just lost it" because Daniel was screaming and crying.
But former work colleagues told Aiton's trial he made sickening boasts about his treatment of the boy. They told how Aiton would order the boy to stand in the shape of a star then kick him from behind.
They also gave evidence that he referred to throwing Daniel against a wall and watching him slide down it, shoving the child face-first into his own faeces and lifting him by the hair as he slept.
Evidence was also tendered that Aiton beat the boy's penis with a wooden spoon when he urinated in the bath. A post-mortem examination found Daniel suffered 104 bruises and two broken collarbones in his brief life.
Aiton, who initially tried to deny killing Daniel, was convicted by a Supreme Court jury in 1993.
In sentencing him, Justice Philip Cummins said: "I consider you have not shown remorse for the death. You have shown concern for your own position."
Aiton was sentenced to 22 years' maximum, with a minimum 18 with good behaviour.
Grandad Mr Ottway said he hoped Aiton felt some remorse.
Mr Ottway said Aiton had served his time and he hoped what had happened to Daniel was a one-off.
Daniel's case led to major change in child welfare in Victoria after it was revealed inaction by authorities failed to stop the abuse.
A judicial inquiry found 21 people, including five doctors, Community Services Victoria and police were involved in Daniel's case after CSV received anonymous calls he was being beaten.
Laws were later introduced making it mandatory for police and health and teaching professionals to report suspected child abuse.
Aiton had lived with Daniel's mother, Cheryle Butcher, after they met through an introduction agency.
Ms Butcher last year spoke out for the first time in 16 years to beg authorities to do more to help children in peril from abuse.
Ms Butcher last year spoke out for the first time in 16 years to beg authorities to do more to help children in peril from abuse.
Aiton's earliest possible release date is November 26.
A Corrections Victoria spokeswoman said prisoners on parole were closely supervised.
Secret jail wedding for Paul Leslie Aiton, killer of Daniel Valerio
Paul Aiton was given a 22-year sentence for the murder of two-year-old Daniel Valerio. Source: Herald Sun
- By Padraic Murphy
- From: Herald Sun
- October 25, 2010
- THE man responsible for one of Victoria's most horrendous crimes has been granted conjugal visits while he completes his sentence for the murder of a two-year-old boy.
A Herald Sun investigation has learned Paul Leslie Aiton has been allowed to marry and buy a house with his bride, Linda, while serving a 22-year sentence for the murder of toddler Daniel Valerio.
Aiton's four-hour conjugal visits were approved by prison authorities and occur in a special unit at Marngoneet prison in Lara.
Aiton, who bashed Daniel to death in 1990, met his wife while jailed in Ararat Prison.
Ms Aiton said she did not know when her husband could be released, but said he was rehabilitated.
"What happened to Paul all those years ago was then. It's not happening now," she said.
"He has done his time, he has done everything that everybody has asked him to do."
Asked whether her husband was a changed man, Ms Aiton said: "Of course he is."
Aiton, who is 188cm tall and weighed 105kg when he beat Daniel to death after months of abuse, will be eligible for parole next month after serving the minimum 18 years of a 22-year sentence.
People Against Lenient Sentencing spokesman Steve Medcraft said the conjugal visits showed the Government was not serious about cracking down on crime."The Government is living in airy-fairy land," Mr Medcraft said. "Some of the prisons are like hotels ... I thought prisons were for punishment."
A Corrections Victoria spokesperson said: "Corrections Victoria under the new Commissioner is reviewing and tightening rules around prison weddings and residential visits for serious offenders."
Daniel Valerio's murder shocked the nation and led to mandatory reporting of child abuse after it was revealed doctors, police and community services workers had been warned the boy was being beaten before his murder.
Aiton, now 49, has showed no remorse for Daniel's murder. An autopsy found Daniel, the son of Aiton's then-girlfriend Cheryle Butcher, suffered 104 bruises and two broken collarbones.
Ms Aiton visits her husband weekly, often accompanied by her daughter, who is aged about 12.
Aiton is housed in the prison's protection unit along with sex offenders and child abusers.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/secret-jail-wedding-for-paul-leslie-aiton-killer-of-daniel-valerio/story-e6freuzr-1225943012204
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Child killer released from prison
Updated
Paul Leslie Aiton has served 19 years in jail for murdering two-year-old Daniel Valerio in 1990. (7pm TV News VIC)
A Melbourne man who brutally murdered a two-year-old boy more than 20 years ago has been released from prison after serving the minimum sentence.Paul Leslie Aiton has served 19 years for murdering Daniel Valerio in his West Rosebud home in 1990.
Aiton was in a relationship with the boy's mother, Cheryle Butcher, at the time.
The parole board decided to release the 49-year-old late last year.
Aiton walked free from the Margoneet Correctional Facility at Lara, west of Melbourne, this morning.
He made no comment to the waiting media as he left the prison.
A spokesman for Victoria's Corrections Minister, Andrew McIntosh, says the Government sought advice about whether the decision to release Aiton could be reversed.
"The Minister's view is that Aiton should not be released and the Minister has expressed this view to the Adult Parole Board," the spokesman said.
"It is clear the decision cannot be changed."
The lawyer who represented the Valerio family, David Gibbs, says the family is still traumatised by the murder.
"I'm sure they'd all be sick to the core at the fact that he is being released," he said.
"I know the death of Daniel, especially the way it happened, impacted on them then.
"I know how it impacted on them and they wouldn't have forgotten it.
"I can still picture the face that we all saw in the newspapers with the bandage over the head and the bruised eyes."
But Mr Gibbs says Aiton deserves to be released.
"He has done his time and he is entitled to another chance, I would have thought," he said.
The parole board says Aiton has served his minimum jail term and prisoners released on parole are less likely to offend again.
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