Raymond Ratima killed family members, including his three young sons and his pregnant sister-in-law. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
A mass murderer who killed seven family members will have another opportunity to apply for parole following concerns about bias.
Raymond Ratima was jailed for life after he went on a rampage in Masterton in 1992, killing family members including his three sons and pregnant sister-in-law.
He was also sentenced to shorter concurrent terms for killing an unborn child and the attempted murder of an extended family member.
He has been denied parole 14 times, with the last time being in October, 2022.
He applied for a judicial review of the decision, saying a psychiatrist Professor Phillip Brinded, who prepared three reports for the court examining his offending, mental state and future risk in 1992 should not have been on the panel.
Ratima also contended the decision wrongly took into account irrelevant information or was unreasonable as the board was accusatory and reproachful in its approach and paid little attention to assessing his risk if released, as well as unreasonably revisting the murders and why he did it.
In November Ratima's lawyer, Roger Eagles, told the High Court in Christchurch there had been "extensive personal contact" between Parole Board member Professor Brinded and Ratima after the murders in 1992, when Brinded prepared psychological reports.
Eagles argued Brinded's previous involvement with his client could create a "perception of bias" when it came to sitting on Ratima's parole hearing.
In a High Court judgment, Justice Preston said the board's inclusion of Professor Brinded gave an apparent or perceived bias but his claims about the unreasonableness of the Board were not upheld.
Ratima was entitled to a re-hearing before a different board, she said.
The judgment noted that the professor did not excuse himself and took an active part in the hearings.
