21 prisoners to be freed after Corrections cock-up

  • 22/09/2016
(iStock)
(iStock)

Nearly two dozen Kiwis could be released from jail as early as Friday after the Supreme Court found that the Department of Corrections got release and parole dates wrong.

The case was taken to the Supreme Court by Michael Marino, who appealed his sentence and said he had spent too long in prison.

Marino was sentenced to 22 months for attempting to pervert the course of justice, and 12 months on family violence charges.

The sentence was supposed to be served concurrently, meaning he would serve 22 months, less any time spent in detention.

But Corrections failed to take into account time he spent in detention on his family violence charges.

Marino won his appeal and he and his lawyer are now seeking compensation, according to the NZ Herald.

The court determined that Corrections had misinterpreted the Parole Act on a number of occasions - a judgement that will now affect many prisoners.

Corrections deputy national commissioner Rachel Leota said her department has been "prepared for this eventuality" and is now "working through the implications".

"There are 21 prisoners that are readily identifiable to Corrections as being immediately affected by the decision," she said in a statement on Thursday.

"Once their records are validated, they will be released as early as tomorrow."

Newshub.