The NSW government’s proposed bill,being called “Lyn’s law” after Lynette Dawson who was murdered by her husband Chris Dawson in 1982,would make co-operating with police and leading them to victims’ remains mandatory for any chance of getting parole.
But at 74 and likely to receive a substantial minimum sentence later this year,it’s unclear whether strengthened parole rules would provide any incentive for Dawson,who has always maintained his innocence,to reveal the whereabouts of his long-dead first wife.
Chris Dawson was found guilty of the 1992 murder of his wife,Lynette Dawson.Nick Moir,NSW Supreme Court
David Jenkins,Lynette’s nephew,said he “doubts” Dawson,whose lawyers have said they intend to appeal the verdict,will change. “We’ll have to see what the sentence is to see if parole is a realistic possibility for him anyway.”
There are a handful of other killers in NSW jails who may find any parole plans interrupted by the new law,including Lane,who was sentenced in 2010 for the murder of her daughter,Tegan,and becomes eligible for parole in May 2024.
Lane,47,maintains she is innocent of the charge and claims she handed her baby to the biological father. Lane appealed her conviction to the High Court in 2014 and lost. Her case for wrongful conviction was then taken on by RMIT’s Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative in 2015.
Keli Lane was sentenced in 2010 for the murder of her daughter Tegan and becomes eligible for parole in May 2024.Ben Rushton
Michele Ruyters,associate dean of criminology and justice studies at RMIT,has been working on Lane’s case for several years and also co-authored a recent paper on Queensland’s version of the law.
Ruyters said similar laws in Queensland,Victoria,Western Australia and the Northern Territory all have the same underlying rationale:offering an incentive to offenders to come clean and “to provide closure to victims’ families to give them some peace”.
But her research suggests it does not work.
“To my knowledge,there has been no successful information about a victim’s remains from any of the no-body laws across Australia. No remains have been detected to date,” Ruyters said.
Rather than provide closure for families,Ruyters said,such laws in practice risk extending their trauma by “holding out the carrot” for killers right up to their parole hearing,potentially encouraging them to provide false information that sends investigators on futile expeditions.
Besides potentially wasting police resources and extending families’ trauma,Ruyters said the law removes the ability for offenders to transition into the community,which is “the whole purpose of parole”.
In the case of anyone wrongfully convicted,Ruyters said,“they cannot possibly provide authorities with any information”. She believes Keli Lane,who would remain incarcerated for another four years and seven months if she is denied parole in 2024,is among that cohort.
“There’s no evidence of a death,let alone evidence of a body. So it is impossible for people like Keli[to reveal the location of remains] and certainly Lindy Chamberlain before her,” she said.
Besides Lane,there are a handful of other convicted killers in NSW who may find any bid for parole complicated by the introduction of Lyn’s law.
James Hachem,36,is yet to be sentenced for the 2019 murder of Samah Baker.Nine News,NSW Police,supplied
James Hachem,36,is yet to be sentenced for the 2019 murder of Samah Baker,of which he was convicted in July. Police thought she might have been in bushland near Goulburn,but a body was never found.
Robert John Adams after he was convicted in 2017 for the 1983 murder of nurse Mary Wallace. Wallace’s body was never found despite extensive searches,and Justice Richard Button said it was a regrettably “forlorn” hope that Adams would ever reveal her whereabouts.
Dubbo man Raymond Roff was sentenced to at least 24 years for the murder of his love rival Alois Rez in 2013 and disposing of his body in an unknown location. Without parole,he will remain behind bars until 2045 when he will be 85 years old.
Professor Julia Quilter from the University of Wollongong’s School of Law said it’s not clear what an accused person has to gain from co-operating,especially if they have long maintained their innocence.
While she could see that it’s a way for the government to demonstrate “good intentions around trying to assist victims”,Quilter questioned its utility beyond being seen to do something.
“It’s a very useful populist line,‘no body,no parole’,but how much impact it will have positively for families is yet to be seen,” she said.
Ruyters said it was “hard not to draw the conclusion” that the legislation is more about politics,“when you look at how quickly they jumped after the Dawson decision”.
Dawson will return to court for a sentence hearing on November 11. By then,the new parole law in the name of his victim could already have passed.
NSW Corrections Minister Geoff Lee will give the bill its second reading to state parliament on Wednesday,and with Labor backing the move in principle,the government expects it to pass as early as October.
On Tuesday,Labor’s spokeswoman for corrective services,Tara Moriarty,said the change is “long overdue” and needs bipartisan support.
“Victims and their loved ones deserve every bit of support they need to lay their loved ones to rest,” Moriarty said.
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