Dean Wickliffe
Dean Hugh Tekahu William Wickliffe (born 1948) is a notorious New Zealand criminal and prison escapee. He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice.[1][2] He was New Zealand's longest-serving prisoner.[3]
Wickliffe was convicted of murdering Paul Miet during an armed robbery in 1972. At a retrial 12 years later, the charge was reduced to manslaughter based on Wickliffe's claim that he had not meant to hurt anyone.[1][4] This decision was criticized by Supreme Court Judge Sir Trevor Henry (then retired) because Wickliffe had been armed with a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol.[4]
Wickliffe was released in 1995, but was later found guilty of murdering Bay of Plenty man, Richard Bluett. The conviction was quashed in 1998[1] and he was acquitted at a retrial.[5]
His personal story was used by MP David Garrett for political purposes in 2008.[6]
In April 2010 Wickliffe was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment for drug and firearms offences committed in March 2008.[7][8] In December 2011, six months after his release from that prison term, he was arrested for manufacture and possession of methamphetamine for supply and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in March 2012 and he will only serve two years due to his illness.[9]
He reportedly has stage iv prostate cancer.
References
- 1 2 3 "Dean Wickliffe to be freed from jail". 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
Wickliffe, notorious as the only New Zealander to twice escape the maximum security prison at Paremoremo, will be released from jail next month.
- ↑ "Dean Wickliffe: I want redemption". stuff.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ↑ "My wasted years of crime". nzherald.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
Dean Wickliffe, recently released after being New Zealand's longest-serving prisoner, is a 'pretty straight guy'.
- 1 2 "Obituary: Sir Trevor Henry". nzherald.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
His involvement with various tasks after his retirement showed his mind remained sharp and attuned to issues of the law. In 1987, he criticised a Court of Appeal decision allowing Dean Wickliffe's appeal against his murder conviction. Wickliffe based his appeal on a claim that he did not mean to hurt anyone, although armed with a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol.
- ↑ "Prebble criticises Wickliffe release". nzherald.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
Wickliffe was sentenced in 1972 for the killing of a Wellington jeweller. He was jailed again in 1997 after being found guilty of murdering Bay of Plenty man Richard Bluett. The Court of Appeal later quashed that conviction and Wickliffe was acquitted at a retrial.
- ↑ "New Zealand Parliament - Garrett, David: Bail Amendment Bill". parliament.nz. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
Members should look at the case of Dean Wickliffe. He was a long-time loser. He was locked up in 1972 for murder. Later, on retrial, the crime was found to be manslaughter, but, significantly, the court never let him out—the life sentence remained. Life sentences are available for manslaughter but are almost never used. Wickliffe finally got out in 1987, but within a very short time he was back again: a year later he was convicted of murder. He spent years and years arguing that he had been wrongfully convicted of murder in 1972. Finally the parole board said that he was right. One year later he killed someone. Sorry, I should say that he was retried and acquitted. But, as the Hon Phil Goff said quite correctly, no one gets found innocent in this country. Acquittal is quite a different thing.
- ↑ "Parolee jailed". The New Zealand Herald. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ↑ "Wickliffe awaits two verdicts". The New Zealand Herald. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ↑ Morton, Jamie (30 March 2012). "Recidivist criminal back in prison for making P". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 March 2012.