A 41-year-old man sentenced to a 25-year jail sentence for the murder of a man whose girlfriend he lusted after has been granted parole for the third time.
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Michael Adam Thompson, then 19, and Leigh James Butwell, 36, lured Paul Colin "Joey" Jarman, 26, into bushland on the East Tamar saying they were going to a drug crop in March 2000.
However, Thompson hit Jarman over the head with a pickaxe handle and a shovel and Butwell stabbed him about sixteen times with a knife.
Mr Jarman's body was found in bushland between Mt Direction and Pipers River.
Murder weapons were thrown into the Tamar River near the Batman Bridge.
The murder trial heard that Thompson was interested in Jarman's partner, and began a sexual relationship with her the night after he and the others killed Mr Jarman.
Justice Peter Underwood in his comments on passing sentence in December 2000 said the men "so savagely attacked him that he must have died almost instantly from horrific injuries to his head and body".
"This was a chilling crime of brutal murder in the nature of a gang execution," Justice Underwood said.
He described it as a dreadful crime and sentenced both Butwell and Thompson to 25 years' jail with a non-parole period of 16 years.
The youth received 20 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 10 years and nine months.
Butwell was released on parole in 2016.
The Parole Board granted Thompson parole until March 2025 despite serious offending behaviour in prison and continued use of drugs.
"The applicant has previously been subject to two separate parole orders, both of which he breached by reoffending," the board said.
"All of these matters raise significant concerns with respect to the suitability of this applicant for a parole order."
The applicant first became eligible for such an order in 2016.
"Application was made by him around that time but was refused then and a further application was again refused in 2017 due to, in summary, a belief that the applicant was not at that stage ready for release into the community," the board said.
Thompson was also refused parole in 2019.
"This accordingly is the applicant's fourth application for parole since he became eligible for consideration of four years ago," the decision said.
The Parole Board said that Thompson had recently been reclassified to maximum security due to intelligence information received within the prison.
"Efforts by the board to gain an understanding as to the specific issues raised in the intelligence failed to elicit anything but broad inferences of potential involvement in drug trafficking within the prison environment," it said.
Thompson had amassed 150 internal offence reports since 2000.
A further issue of concern surrounded his struggle with drug addiction which was a significant causative factor for the crime.
"He advised that he had last used drugs three to four weeks prior to his appearance before the board which he associated with disappointment arising from his reclassification," the Parole Board said.
Accordingly, his approach to supervision needs not only to focus on drug abstinence, but also his mental health.
In 2016, a forensic psychologist Dr O'Donnell wrote a report which said Thompson relied on violence and substance abuse to solve problems.
"She specifically noted that potential destabilisers within the community were antisocial associates, alcohol and drugs and personality driven reliance upon aggression to deal with interpersonal problems," the Parole Board said.
"He appears highly motivated to remain compliant with community expectations upon his return to society.
The board noted that the murder had caused significant and long-standing impacts to the victim's family.
"It is also noted that there is an element in those statements of fear for their own personal safety, were the applicant to return to the community," it said.
The board also noted that the applicant had engaged in therapeutic courses and suitable accommodation found.
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