New law in NSW to refuse parole for convicted killers after Chris Dawson was found guilty of murder
Chris Dawson and other convicted killers may be refused parole unless they reveal where the bodies of their victims are under new proposed laws in NSW.
Dawson, 74, was last month found guilty of the murder of his first wife Lynette 40 years ago and has faced death threats in jail since his conviction.
The NSW government is now expected to this week introduce ‘no body, no parole’ laws for inmates across the state.
The proposed laws would mean the State Parole Authority (SPA) would not be able to grant parole to someone convicted of murder or homicide offences unless they’re satisfied the prisoner has cooperated with police on their victim’s whereabouts.
The new laws would affect about six prisoners in NSW jails and has been dubbed ‘Lyn’s law’, with the body of the mother-of-two having never been found.
Chris Dawson (pictured) and other convicted killers may be refused parole unless they reveal where the bodies of their victims are under new proposed laws in NSW
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he hoped the legislation would comfort grieving families.
‘We will make it impossible for offenders who wilfully and deliberately refuse to disclose information about their victims’ remains to be granted parole,’ he said.
‘Being unable to locate a loved one’s body is extremely distressing and traumatic for the families and friends of victims and it denies a victim the dignity of being laid to rest appropriately.
‘These laws are to stop inmates convicted of murder or homicide offences from getting parole unless they co-operate with police to end the torment of families and return to them the remains of their loved ones.’
The SPA will rely on written advice from the police commissioner and other relevant information to determine whether the offender has co-operated satisfactorily to identify a victim’s location.
Dawson, 74, was last month found guilty of the murder of his first wife Lynette 40 years ago and has faced death threats in jail since his conviction
Corrections Minister Geoff Lee said the reforms were modelled on laws in other jurisdictions and would apply to all current and future inmates in NSW to capture convicted offenders who have not yet been considered for parole.
‘Any offender in prison coming up for parole should really think hard about maintaining their refusal to co-operate with police if they want to retain their prospects of getting parole,’ Dr Lee said.
The legislation will bring NSW into line with laws in Queensland, WA, SA, Victoria and the Northern Territory, where offenders can be refused parole if they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of victims’ remains.
After Dawson was convicted of murdering Lyn, her family plead for her killer to reveal the location of her remains.
‘This is a milestone in our journey of advocating for Lyn, however the journey is not complete, she is still missing,’ Lyn’s brother Greg Simms said outside court.
‘We still need to bring her home, we’d ask Chris Dawson to find it in himself to finally do the decent thing and allow us to bring Lyn home to a peaceful rest, showing her the dignity she deserves.’
Lyn’s brother Greg Simms and his wife Merilyn are seen outside court pleading for Dawson to reveal where Lyn’s remains are, after he was found guilty of her murder
Despite finding that he was not satisfied Dawson ’caused any of the bruising on Lynette’ or that he ‘was physically violent towards her’, Justice Ian Harrison found him guilty of murder.
He was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette is dead, that she has not been seen or heard since on or around January 8, 1982 and that she did not leave her home voluntarily.
It’s understood Dawson’s legal team have lodged a notice of intention to appeal with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.