|
|
The |
|
Convicted child abuser Peter Ellis
has been moved into self-care prison accommodation at The Parole Board is meeting this
week to consider his case for the second time. A prison source said the self-care
units were like "fancy motels". "It's the prison's way of
adjusting inmates to getting out." But long-time Ellis supporter
Winston Wealleans said the move did not imply
Ellis's release from prison was imminent. "There are guys there with
three or four years to go. I think probably it was just the fact he'd earned
his place there by having been pretty well-behaved. He's never been a
bother." Ellis had been in the self-care
area for a couple of months, he said. Compared with normal prison life,
the main difference was prisoners there were able to do more for themselves, such as their own cooking. Before his transfer to Paparua, Ellis was in Rolleston
Prison. Ellis was sentenced to 10 years'
jail in 1993 when he was found guilty of abusing children at the Christchurch
Civic Creche. He turns 41 this month. His lawyer, Judith Ablett-Kerr, QC, said while Ellis wished to have his
freedom, he believed the most important issue was to re-establish his
innocence. He would do nothing to imply his
guilt in order to get parole. Meanwhile, Christchurch MP Ron
Mark said he had spoken to Justice Minister Tony Ryall
about speeding up the processing of a petition seeking a pardon for Ellis. The petition, containing new
information about the case, was delivered to the Governor-General in
November. "I think he'll live up to his
word that will be done before the appeal," said Mark. The Court of Appeal rejected
Ellis's first appeal in September 1994, but a second appeal is set down for
May. |
