Law will help families

Butler MLA John Quigley introduced his ‘no body, no parole’ Bill to State Parliament this month, which requires the Prisoners Review Board not to grant parole to someone convicted of murder if they have not revealed where the body is.

At the Two Rocks Yanchep Residents Association meeting on February 22, Mr Quigley said it required the board to find out from the Police Commissioner how co-operative a prisoner had been.

Resident Ed Whitchurch asked how it would affect people who had not actually committed murder, if wrongly convicted.

Referring to the Andrew Mallard conviction that he helped overturn in 2006, Mr Quigley said the law would not prevent anyone in prison from coming up with evidence to prove their innocence.

“If you are in jail, you can still plead your case,” he said.

Mr Quigley said the law aimed to help families of murder victims whose bodies had not been recovered, including Jason Edge’s parents, who live in Carramar.