17 August 2011

Mother who murdered son goes free

Convicted murderer Gunn-Britt Ashfield has been released from jail on parole after serving 18 years for killing her six-year-old son with a hammer on the NSW south coast.

Ashfield, 43, who has changed her name to Angelic Karstrom, has walked free from Dillwynia Correctional Centre within the John Moroney complex, near Windsor in Sydney's north-west today.

Karstrom, who was wearing a black trouser suit and a white-collared shirt, did not speak to media as she was escorted to a waiting vehicle by police.

She must comply with a number of conditions imposed on her parole, including electronic monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, curfews and counselling.

She is banned from living or visiting the Illawarra and Hunter regions, where her family lives, and may not be in the company of anyone under 16.

At the family's request, she is prohibited from visiting the grave of her son, John Ashfield.

She made headlines in June after the NSW Parole Board indicated it was ready to grant her bail with one year left to serve of her maximum sentence.

In late July, the board held a public hearing in Parramatta, which was attended by members of her family who opposed her release.

In granting her parole, the board determined it was better to monitor her in the community for a year under strict conditions.

Karstrom and her partner Austin Allan Hughes pleaded guilty to the 1993 bashing murder of the boy, which her other four children were forced to watch.

They were jailed for 21 years but had their sentences reduced on appeal to 19 years, with a minimum of 14.

Hughes was granted parole in December 2009 but the parole board denied Karstrom parole for four years in a row.

aap 15 Aug 2011

The legal system is set up in such a manner to create disharmony in the community.

This is achieved at various levels from:

  • 'lenient' sentences given to serial 'thugs',
  • not incarcerating police for criminal activities, and having them on the payroll at public expanse,
  • to only a few years for killing children as in this example of many.
The legal system is quick to implement laws (within months) that reduce the speed limit from 50 km/h to 30km/h for the fictitious excuse of 'road safety, where the real agenda is revenue from speeding fines, whereas decades are taken to increase the sentences for murder.

No data exists that shows that less pedestrians have been killed as a result of vehicles traveling 30 km/h in suburban streets compared to the current 50km/h.

These laws are deliberately created to the detriment of the community.

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