Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Aaron Rex McDonald
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Amy Farrall
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David Garrett
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Life imprisonment
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Murder
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Non-parole period
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Parole
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Preventive detention
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Rape
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Three Strikes
At last; a criminal defendant who takes responsibility for his actions; the Herald reports:
The man accused of murdering and raping Christchurch woman Amy Farrall, and then attacking two hitch-hikers on the West Coast, has pleaded guilty at the High Court today.
Aaron Rhys McDonald, 38, made the early guilty pleas this morning and also lost his name suppression.
At least McDonald has done one honourable thing in his life, sparing Amy Farrall's family and the victims of his West Coast attack the ordeal of a lengthy trial. Let him now be sentenced, and start serving a a life sentence, hopefully with a very long non-parole period. His incarceration will make New Zealand a slightly safer place.
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UPDATE: It comes as no surprise to learn that McDonald was on parole when he committed these violent offences:
McDonald was on parole at the time of the crime spree, a Parole Board decision shows.
He had been sentenced at Palmerston North District Court in May 2009 to five years and three months in custody for multiple crimes, including the manufacture of methamphetamine, burglary, theft, and arson.
A hearing at Rimutaka Prison last September was told McDonald was a self-confessed alcohol and methamphetamine user who smoked cannabis daily since he was 15 but his risk to the community over the remaining nine months of his sentence could be "adequately mitigated".
He told the board that he had accommodation available in Christchurch.
"There is, however, no work available there, although he has tentatively proposed that in time he may work with a friend in Christchurch. This seems to be some way off at the moment," the decision said.
Sadly for Amy Farrall, Michaela Brandl and Niki Honda, their paths crossed with the ticking time-bomb named Aaron McDonald, and the risks he posed to the community were unable to be "adequately mitigated". He also has a previous conviction for a brutal home invasion and assault of an elderly woman in Lower Hutt in 1997.
Aaron McDonald is exactly the kind of person that David Garrett's Three Strikes legislation was intended for. The Crown may seek a sentence of preventive detention, and it is possible that he may never be released from prison. Sadly, there are some individuals in our society that are beyond rehabilitation, and society would be a safer place in Aaron McDonald never tasted freedom again.
