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Sentencing Act 2002

Sentences, orders, and related matters - Imprisonment - Additional consequences for certain repeated offending

86P: Stage-2 offences: imposition of minimum period of imprisonment when life imprisonment imposed for murder

You could also call this:

"Life imprisonment for murder: how long you must stay in prison"

Illustration for Sentencing Act 2002

If you commit a serious crime like murder, and it is a stage-2 offence, the court might sentence you to life in prison. When this happens, the court will also decide if you can be paroled. If the court does not make an order saying you cannot be paroled, they must decide on a minimum time you have to spend in prison. You will have to spend at least 15 years in prison if you pleaded guilty to the murder and none of the special circumstances apply, or at least 17 years in any other case. The court can choose not to set a minimum prison time, but only if they think it would be very unfair to do so, and they have to explain why they made this decision, by looking at the circumstances of the crime and the person who committed it, as outlined in section 86T.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1448080.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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86O: Stage-2 offences: loss of parole eligibility when determinate sentence of imprisonment of more than 24 months imposed for offence other than murder, or

"No parole for some prison sentences over 24 months, unless it's very unfair."

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86Q: Stage-3 offences: transfer of proceedings to High Court, or

"Big crimes go to the High Court for trial and sentencing"

Part 2Sentences, orders, and related matters
Imprisonment: Additional consequences for certain repeated offending

86PStage-2 offences: imposition of minimum period of imprisonment when life imprisonment imposed for murder

  1. This section applies if—

  2. a court imposes a sentence of imprisonment for life on an offender for a murder that is a stage-2 offence; and
    1. the court does not make an order under section 103(2A) requiring the offender to serve the sentence without parole.

      1. The court must, unless the court is satisfied that, given the circumstances of the offence and the offender, it would be manifestly unjust to do so (see section 86T), make an order imposing a minimum period of imprisonment of at least—

      2. 15 years, if the offender pleaded guilty to the murder and none of the circumstances set out in section 104(1A) apply:
        1. 17 years, in any other case.

          1. If the court makes an order under subsection (2), the court must state, with reasons, the minimum period of imprisonment that it would, but for the application of this section, have imposed.

          2. If the court does not make an order under subsection (2), the court must give reasons for not doing so.

          Notes
          • Section 86P: inserted, on , by section 7 of the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 54).