The former white supremacist who is serving two life prison sentences for killing a gay Westport man and a Korean backpacker is appealing his 21 year non-parole jail term, reports the Nelson Mail. Hayden McKenzie, now aged 31, and a fellow 'Forth Reich' member strangled and drowned 54-year-old gay man James Bamborough after a party in Westport in October 1999. He was found guilty of the murder in 2005. McKenzie also murdered Korean backpacker Jae [jay] Kim on the West Coast in 2003, and later pleaded guilty. In last month's sentencing in the High Court in Wellington, Justice Simon France said both killings were hate crimes, as the victims were killed because of their ethnicity or sexuality. McKenzie's barrister has now confirmed the former skinhead is appealing against the length of his non-parole period, but a spokesperson for the Sensible Sentencing Trust says he should not appeal, and that if he lost he should have his sentence extended for the "frivolous waste of taxpayer money and the judge's time".
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Friday, 9th January 2009 - 11:30am