A convicted murderer who fatally shot a man over a drug deal gone wrong has failed in his latest bid for an early release from jail.
James Andrew Mills, also known as Jamie, is serving a life sentence for killing Jamie Faulkner in Palmerston North in September 2009.
Mills, 42, pleaded guilty to murdering Faulkner and was first eligible for parole in late 2020, after 11 years inside.
He sought an early release at his second meeting with the Parole Board in May, but the board ruled he still posed a risk to the community.
Mills shot Faulkner, 32, in the Palmerston North flat Mills and Rachel Marie Parker shared. Parker lured Faulkner there to finalise a methamphetamine deal.
But she hatched a plan to have Mills threaten Faulkner with a sawn-off shotgun to enforce the deal.
After he was shot, Faulkner wrestled the gun away from Mills and staggered outside, where he collapsed.
The Parole Board decision from the May meeting, released to RNZ, said Mills had completed drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes. They reported back positively about him.
Before his 2020 parole hearing Mills was concerned the drug treatment programme at Whanganui Prison included elements of tikanga Māori he wasn't interested in - "especially the religious aspect".
He transferred to Hawke's Bay Regional Prison to do the drug programme.
The board said Mills had a plan for his release, and noted he previously worked in engineering and had a lab technician qualification. He also had a criminal history, including drug offences.
His lawyer Debbie Goodlet sought parole.
"She recognised that the vulnerability in Mr Mills' plan was reintegration, but she said the work he had done in prison and the very supportive family would be sufficient to overcome that deficit," the decision said.
But the board thought he still needed more work to reintegrate into normal life, including guided releases from prison and temporary releases to work.
"Doing well in all of those areas will illustrate that he can function well in society and that we can be confident that the rehabilitation programmes he has undertaken have made a significant difference to his conduct."
Faulkner's mother Dulcie Colman made a submission to the board and said she felt like her concerns about Mills were listened to.
"I personally feel that he needs constant help in being rehabilitated - ongoing help, permanently."
The board withheld details about where Mills would be released, but said it would be appropriate, although initially difficult.
"And so slow and steady is certainly the best way as far as we are concerned."
Mills will next go before the board by the end of February.
Parker was also charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter during her trial.
When police turned up at the scene of the crime, an untidy flat on Heretaunga Street in the inner city, a CD called Getting Away With Murder was playing.
Although he admitted the murder charge, in 2015 Mills filed an appeal, claiming he was instead guilty of manslaughter. In 2020 the Court of Appeal rejected this.
RNZ
