A fresh review will be conducted to determine whether Snowtown killer James Vlassakis should be released on parole after South Australia’s Court of Appeal overturned a decision that had blocked his release.
Vlassakis, the youngest of the four men convicted over the notorious “bodies-in-the-barrels” murders, was granted parole by the state’s Parole Board last year, but remained behind bars after Attorney-General Kyam Maher sought a review of the decision.
The Court of Appeal found Parole Administrative Review Commissioner Michael David KC had fallen into jurisdictional error by substituting his own assessment of the gravity of Vlassakis’ offences for that of the sentencing court and failing to properly assess the current risk he posed to the community.
The court also ruled the reasons provided for overturning the Parole Board’s decision were not sufficiently compelling.
Vlassakis, now in his mid-40s, was jailed for life over his role in four murders connected to the Snowtown killings, but received a reduced 26-year non-parole period after helping convict co-offenders John Bunting and Robert Wagner.
He will remain in custody while newly appointed Parole Administrative Review Commissioner David Lovell conducts a fresh review.
Responding to the decision, Maher said the “horrific murders remain etched in the memories of South Australians” and extended his thoughts to the victims’ families and loved ones.
The latest development comes weeks after a 25-year suppression order protecting Vlassakis’s identity was lifted by the Court of Appeal.
Source: ABC News
