May 9, 2018 Release of convicted child killer a betrayal Shadow Attorney General Michael Mischin says he is disappointed but not surprised by Attorney General John Quigley’s decision to release convicted child killer Arthur Greer on parole so that he can be deported to the United Kingdom. “It has always been quite clear where Attorney General Quigley’s sympathies really lie,” Mr Mischin said. “It is not a decision I would have made and I refused to agree to Greer’s release when his case last came before me for consideration. “To hand a ‘get out of gaol free’ card to an criminal with a history of sexual and other offences who has been convicted of murdering one of our children and shown no remorse for it, on the basis that he is getting old and it will be cheaper than keeping him in prison, seems to me to me to be a betrayal of everything people expect of our criminal justice system. “Once he is deported, he will be out of the reach of our parole authorities. For practical purposes, he is being freed before he has completed his sentence and only for the sake of expediency, not because he is reformed.” Mr Mischin said the Attorney General had made a big noise about his no-body, no-parole laws, but he was now releasing someone who concealed the body of his victim, had consistently refused to accept responsibility for his crime, and had since showed no contrition. “Had Sharon Mason’s body not been discovered by accident nine years after she was murdered, those who knew and loved her would still be guessing as to her fate, the sort of dreadful situation Mr Quigley campaigned so hard against in pursuing his no-body, no-parole laws,” Mr Mischin said. Media Contact |
