Drink-Driver Should Be Locked Up - For Good

Thursday 3 Jun 2004

Stephen Franks - Press Releases - Crime & Justice

If it is true that Edwin Paul Ure only stops drink-driving when he is in custody, then he should be locked up for good, ACT New Zealand Justice Spokesman Stephen Franks said today.

"Ure shows contempt for the law, no remorse, and no sign of stopping. It is only a matter of time before he kills someone," Mr Franks said.

"This is Ure's 22^nd conviction, so he has had a score of second chances. He is not deterred by the law, or fear of punishment - and, given the nature of his offending, is prepared to kill. He is clearly is prepared to go to jail. Let's not disappoint him.

"I call on Justice Minister Phil Goff to reveal:

· How much prison time Ure has been sentenced to in total, and the actual time he has spent in prison - so we can work out much he has been let off on parole, and by the ridiculous device of concurrent sentencing.

· How much parole, if any, he got off his last 10 sentences - so we can ask the Parole Board why it thought it safe to let him out after 12 earlier repeat crimes

· How many of his last 10 sentences have not been for the maximum for the respective offences - so we can ask the courts how much more contemptuous of the law a criminal would have be before earning a maximum sentence.

"I predict that Mr Goff will refuse to answer, ostensibly to protect Ure's privacy. But Ure should have lost all right to privacy when he decided that the law governing public roads did not apply to him. I suspect that Mr Goff will be glad that `privacy' gives him an excuse to impede analysis of his own laws and policies," Mr Franks said.

ENDS

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