Life imprisonment has been the most severe criminal sentence in New Zealand since the death penalty was abolished in 1989, having not been used since 1957.^[1]

Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment must serve a minimum of 10 years imprisonment before they are eligible for parole, although the sentencing judge may set a longer minimum period or decline to set a minimum period at all (meaning the offender will spend the rest of their life in prison). Released offenders remain on parole and are subject to electronic tagging for the rest of their life.^[2]

Life imprisonment in New Zealand for crimes other than murder is relatively rare. Of 941 life sentences imposed since 1980, only seven have been for crimes other than murder – one for manslaughter in 1996, one for an act of terrorism in 2020, and five for drug offences in 1985, 1996, 2008 (two) and 2009.^[3]

Life imprisonment is the mandatory sentence for treason. It is the presumptive sentence for murder, being mandatory unless in the circumstances it would be manifestly unjust. Life imprisonment is an optional sentence for aircraft hijacking,^[4] Class A drug dealing,^[5] manslaughter^[6] and terrorism.^[7]

The imposition of life imprisonment for murder is codified in sections 102 to 104 of the Sentencing Act 2002.^[8]

102 Presumption in favour of life imprisonment for murder

(1) An offender who is convicted of murder must be sentenced to imprisonment for life unless, given the circumstances of the offence and the offender, a sentence of imprisonment for life would be manifestly unjust.

(2) If a court does not impose a sentence of imprisonment for life on an offender convicted of murder, it must give written reasons for not doing so.

(3) [Repealed]

103 Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment or imprisonment without parole if life imprisonment imposed for murder

(1) If a court sentences an offender convicted of murder to imprisonment for life it must,—

(a) order that the offender serve a minimum period of imprisonment under that sentence; or

(b) if subsection (2A) applies, make an order under that subsection; or

(2) The minimum term of imprisonment ordered may not be less than 10 years, and must be the minimum term of imprisonment that the court considers necessary to satisfy all or any of the following purposes:

(a) holding the offender accountable for the harm done to the victim and the community by the offending:

(b) denouncing the conduct in which the offender was involved:

(c) deterring the offender or other persons from committing the same or a similar offence:

(d) protecting the community from the offender.

(2A) If the court that sentences an offender convicted of murder to imprisonment for life is satisfied that no minimum term of imprisonment would be sufficient to satisfy 1 or more of the purposes stated in subsection (2), the court may order that the offender serve the sentence without parole.

(2B) The court may not make an order under subsection (2A) unless the offender was 18 years of age or over at the time that the offender committed the murder.

(3-6) [Repealed]

(7) Subsection (2) is subject to section 104.

104 Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment of 17 years or more

(1) The court must make an order under section 103 imposing a minimum period of imprisonment of at least 17 years in the following circumstances, unless it is satisfied that it would be manifestly unjust to do so:

(a) if the murder was committed in an attempt to avoid the detection, prosecution, or conviction of any person for any offence or in any other way to attempt to subvert the course of justice; or

(b) if the murder involved calculated or lengthy planning, including making an arrangement under which money or anything of value passes (or is intended to pass) from one person to another; or

(c) if the murder involved the unlawful entry into, or unlawful presence in, a dwelling place; or

(d) if the murder was committed in the course of another serious offence; or

(e) if the murder was committed with a high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity, or callousness; or

(ea) if the murder was committed as part of a terrorist act (as defined in section 5(1) of the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002); or

(f) if the deceased was a constable or a prison officer acting in the course of his or her duty; or

(g) if the deceased was particularly vulnerable because of his or her age, health, or because of any other factor; or

(h) if the offender has been convicted of 2 or more counts of murder, whether or not arising from the same circumstances; or

(i) in any other exceptional circumstances.

(2) This section does not apply to an offender in respect of whom an order under section 86E(2)(b) or (4)(a) or 103(2A) is made.

Circumstances where life imprisonment might be deemed manifestly unjust include mercy killings, suicide pacts, and "battered defendants" who were subjected to "prolonged and severe abuse".^[9]

There is no minimum age for imposing life imprisonment. The youngest people sentenced to life imprisonment in New Zealand were aged 13 years at the time of the offence.^[10]

Case law

• R v Williams [2005] 2 NZLR 506 – judgement providing guidance on sentencing offenders subject to the 17-year minimum period of imprisonment contained in section 104 of the Sentencing Act 2002.
• Churchward v R [2011] NZCA 531; (2011) 25 CRNZ 446 – judgement providing guidance on imposing minimum periods of imprisonment when sentencing adolescent offenders.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2017)

A sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole has been given only once, to Brenton Tarrant for the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019.^[11] The longest minimum period of imprisonment on a sentence of life imprisonment with possibility of parole is 30 years, currently being served by William Dwane Bell.

Sentences imposed with a minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years or more or with no possibility of parole include:

Antonie Dixon was given a minimum term of 20 years for the murder of James Te Aute on 21 January 2003, but the conviction was later quashed. He was re-tried and reconvicted, but committed suicide in his prison cell before he could be re-sentenced.

The longest minimum period for a woman is 19 years, currently being served by Tracy Jean Goodman for the murder of pensioner Mona Morriss in the course of a burglary in Marton in January 2005.^[29]

There is also provision for an indefinite sentence of preventive detention, which can be given for sexual or violent crimes for which life imprisonment is not available (preventive detention can be imposed alongside life imprisonment, for example, where convictions for sexual or violent crimes accompany a murder conviction). Since the Sentencing Act 2002 came into force, this has been given to repeat sexual offenders and serious violent recidivist offenders. Preventive detention has a minimum period of imprisonment of five years, but the sentencing judge can extend this if they believe that the prisoner's history warrants it. The sentence of preventive detention was first introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 1954.^[30]

The longest minimum period of imprisonment on a sentence of preventive detention is one of 28 years, which was given in 1984.^[31]