Media Release
Monday 2 December 2002

Marc Alexander MP and Spokesperson for the 'Sensible Sentencing Trust' opposes Paul Bailey's parole application

United Future NZ MP, Marc Alexander asks "Just how much value do we place on a child's life? Seemingly not very much if convicted murderer and rapist Paul Bailey wins his parole application on Thursday and is given his freedom. But while all the focus is on him, let's not forget what put him in prison in the first place. If the police recreation of the events is accurate, the last two hours of 15-year-old Kylie Smith's short life must have been filled with horrendous fear, terror and panic.

Bailey stopped her as she rode her horse Nick after school. At gunpoint she was made to crouch down in his car out of sight. He drove to Painted Rock in Central Otago, parked and then forced Kylie to undress. She was brutally raped and, just as she was putting her clothes on, was shot in the back of the head. Bailey then covered her with her jacket and some undergrowth from the nearby bush.

That was back in November 1991. Bailey was caught, charged, convicted and sentenced in 1992. He was given a life sentence for murder and 13 years for rape. It was revealed later that the crimes on Kylie were committed while he was on bail for the attempted rape of a woman in Ettrick, also in Central Otago.

It is now 11 years on and Bailey, still young at 38, comes up for parole yet again. His first application was declined last year.

Bevan and Dawn, Kylie's parents, are forced to re-live the heartbreak all over again. The thought that their daughter's killer could be free to enjoy a life that he chose to deny her must be an impossible burden for any parent to bear. As a society that presumes to call itself civilized, we simply cannot undermine the enormity of this crime by releasing him. Put aside for a moment that 11 years is a grossly insufficient punishment for the rape, let alone the murder. Forget for the time being that he may be a risk to others. The real crime is that the value of Kylie's life will be diminished by a serious lack of consequences for those who have flaunted the reverence that we place on life; and the anguish for her parents' in the loss of an innocent and beloved family member, for the rest of their lives."

"Please support Bevan and Dawn."

Join Sue Williams (Sensible Sentencing Trustee), Marc Alexander MP and others, to give voice on behalf of Kylie and all victims of violent crime, outside the Christchurch District Court this Thursday morning at 10.15am.

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