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August 24, 2025 6 mins

I don't know about you, but I was truly surprised to hear Judge Russell Collins send a young drug driver to jail on Friday. In the Napier District Court, Judge Collins heard Alexander Kerr had dope in his system when he crashed his car - killing his mate and leaving another in a wheelchair for life. Kerr had no previous convictions.  

His mate, the one in the wheelchair, the one he didn't kill, had forgiven him, but Judge Collins sent Kerr to jail for two years and three months. In sentencing, Judge Collins said if people asked the question, “What would happen if I killed someone through driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol?” The answer should be “expect to go to jail.” Criminal lawyer Steve Cullen on Early Edition this morning said a sentence of imprisonment is not unusual. 

If people are being killed due to drug drivers or drink drivers being on the road, then a harsh penalty has to be imposed to send the message to everybody.  

Really?! Steve Cullen, I can give you many, many, many, many instances of people who have killed innocents on the road and have not been sent to jail.  

A repeat drunk driver who killed another motorist has successfully appealed her prison sentence and got home detention. Samantha Allen was described as weaving on the road, SH3 in the King Country, crossing the centre line multiple times before the head on collision in March 2022. The crash killed Abigail Johns. It was Allen's fourth drink driving conviction. She successfully appealed her sentence of two years and seven months imprisonment, and it was replaced with a sentence of 9 1/2 months home detention.   

Ten weeks after he hit and killed an Irish national, Declan Curley, while drunk driving, Callum Wither was again on the road and drunk. He's now been sentenced to home detention to the disappointed murmurs of Curley's friends and family. Wither, 23, who had hit Declan at the intersection of Taranaki and Dixon streets in central Wellington in 2022, was drunk enough to have a friend tell him he should not be driving. But after killing Declan on April 21, Wither was again in Wellington CBD drink driving and he got home detention.   

Samuel Paterson killed surfer, builder and cyclist Andrew Milne. It was an avoidable killing, and Paterson simply had no business getting behind the wheel when he was fatigued, drunk and with cannabis in his system. Paterson's car was unwarranted and unregistered at the time of the fatal collision. The judge gave Paterson credit for his early guilty pleas, his engagement with the restorative justice, his remorse, his efforts at rehabilitation and his offer of significant reparation that reduced his sentence from a starting point of three years and six months imprisonment to 11 months home detention and 200 hours community work.   

And in 2023, I mean there are so many more, but this is my last one. Jake Hamlin finished work at 4pm and drove from Ruawai to a house near the Sherwood Golf Club in Whangarei and began consuming a box of Maverick bourbon, ready-to- drink-mixes. He left the house, began driving towards Managawhai, still consuming drinks, was captured on CCTV crossing the centre line. A driver called police, observing Jake Hamlin drifting across the road and almost colliding into three other vehicles. The driver said he followed him for a period but gave up when he hit a speed of around 130kms. Fifteen minutes later, Hamlin came along the Uretiti straights, crossing the centre line and ploughing straight into Samantha Williams. She was killed on impact and suffered injuries she would find hard to be able to survive. After listening to the lengthy submissions, Judge Davis accepted that Hamlin was among many young men in New Zealand caught up in the peer pressure of an excessive drinking culture. He acknowledged his rehabilitative efforts, offers for restorative justice, which were declined, and his remorse. The end sentence was 12 months home detention, which upset multiple members of the victim's family, who left the courtroom.  

So, Steve Cullen, I would say that absolutely it is a surprise to me, and probably to many others, and probably to the young man himself, to be sent to prison. The answer absolutely should be, as you say, what happens if I kill somebody? When, through my own deeds and actions, my choice to drink, my choice to take drugs, my choice to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, I kill somebody else. The answer absolutely should be I go to jail.  

All these people and all the many others I haven't got time to mention should be in prison, every single one of them. Some of them are really, really sorry.  For some of them it's a nightmare they'll never wake up. From some well you know ... some of them seem to be, “well I was pissed, I was stoned, it was an accident, these things happen.” No.  

Yes, they happen, but they shouldn't. A

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Morning's podcast from news Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be I don't know about you, but I was
truly surprised to hear Judge Russell Collins send a young
drug driver to jail on Friday, made the news over
the weekend and today. In the Napier District Court a
couple of days ago, Judge Collins heard Alexander Kerr had
opened his system when he crashed his car, killing his

(00:32):
mate and leaving another in a wheelchair for life. Kerr
had no previous convictions. His mate, the one in the wheelchair,
the one he didn't kill, had forgiven him, but Judge
Colin sent ker to jail for two years and three months.
In sentencing, Judge Colin said if people asked the question

(00:54):
what would happen if I killed someone through driving while
impaired by drugs or alcohol, the answer should be expect
to go to jail. Criminal lawyer Steve Cullen on early
Edition This Morning said a sentence of imprisonment is not unusual.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
If could have been killed due to drug drivers or
drink drivers being on the road, then a harsh penalty
has to be opposed. To see the message to everybody, really, This.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Was Steve talking to Ryan Bridge this morning. Steve Culin,
I can give you many, many, many many instances of
people who have killed innocence on the road and have
not been sent to jail. A repeat drink driver who
killed another motorist has successfully appealed her prison sentence and
got home detention. Samantha Allen was described as weaving on

(01:43):
the road State Highway three in the king Country, crossing
the center line multiple times before the head on collision
in March twenty twenty two. The crash killed Abigail John's.
It was Allan's fourth drink driving conviction. She successfully appealed
her sentence of two years and seven months imprisonment and

(02:05):
replaced with a sentence of nine and a half months
home detention. Ten weeks after he hit and killed an
Irish national, Declan Curley while drink driving, Callum Wither was
again on the road and drunk. He's now been sentenced
to home detention to the disappointed murmurs of Curley's friend

(02:25):
and family friends and family Whither twenty three, who had
hit Declan at the intersection of Taranaki and Dixon Streets
in central Wellington in twenty twenty two, was drunk enough
to have a friend ptolemy should not be driving, but
after killing Declan. On April twenty one, whither was again

(02:46):
in Wellington c BD drink driving and he got home detention.
Samuel Patterson killed surfer, builder and cyclist Andrew Milne. It
was an avoidable killing and Patterson simply had no business
getting behind the wheel when he was fatigued, drunk and
with cannabis in his system. Patterson's car was unwarranted and

(03:08):
unregistered at the time of the fatal collision. The judge
gave Patterson credit for his early guilty please, his engagement
with a restorative justice, his remorse, his efforts at rehabilitation,
and his offer of significant reparation that reduced his sentence
from a starting point of three years and six months
imprisonment to eleven months home detention and two hundred hours

(03:29):
community work. And in twenty twenty three. I mean, there
are so many more, but this is my last one.
Jake Hamlin finished work at four pm, drove from Rual
Way to a house near the Sherwood Golf Club and
fung at a began consuming a box of Maverick Bourbon.
Ready to drink mixers. He left the house began driving

(03:49):
towards Mungaphire, still consuming drinks, was captured on CCTV crossing
the center line. A driver called police observing Jake Hamlin
drifting across the road, almost colliding into three other vehicles.
The driver said he followed him for a period but
gave up when he hit a speed of around one
hundred and thirty k's. Fifteen minutes later, Hamlin came along

(04:10):
the Urditetti Straits, crossing the center line and plowing straight
into Samantha Williams. She was killed on impact and some
of injuries she would find hard to be able to survive.
After listening to the lengthy submissions, Judge Davis accepted that
Hamlin was among many young men in New Zealand caught
up in the peer pressure of an excessive drinking culture.

(04:33):
He acknowledged his rahabilitative efforts, offers for restorative judge justice,
which were declined, and his remorse. The end sentence was
twelve months home detention, which upset multiple members of the
victim's family who left the courtroom. So Steve color I
would say, yeah, absolutely, it is a surprise to me

(04:55):
and probably to many others, and probably to the young
man himself to be sent to prison. The answer absolutely
should be, as you say, what happens if I kill somebody? When,
through my own deeds and actions, my choice to drink,
my choice to take drugs, my choice to get behind

(05:16):
the wheel of a vehicle, I kill somebody else, The
answer absolutely should be I go to jail. All of
these people and all the many others I haven't got
time to mention, should be in prison, every single one
of them. Some of them are really really sorry. For
some of them, it's a nightmare. They'll never wake up
from some here. Well, you know, some of them seem

(05:37):
to be well. Us pissed a ston't it was an accident.
These things happen. No, yes they happen, but they shouldn't.
And when they do happen, a life has got to
be recognized. The person who took the life of another
can't just be inconvenienced but bored, brassed off at home.

(06:03):
Life as they shouldn't, as they know, it should come
to an absolute halt. They should lose their rights. They
should go to prison, and they should stay there for
a period of time. It's never going to mean a life.
You're never going to be sent to prison for life,
but taking the life of another through your own actions,

(06:25):
through your own choices and decisions, shouldn't mean that you're
a bit bored at home. That shouldn't be your punishment.
Your rights, your liberty should be taken from you, if
not forever, at least for a period of time to
acknowledge that you have stolen the life of another person.

(06:48):
And that's got to count for something.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
For more from Carrywood and Mornings, listen live to news
talks that be from nine am weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
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