Thomas fined for letter

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33774, 21 February 1975, Page 14

Thomas fined for letter

(N.Z. Press Association)

AUCKLAND, Feb. 20.

Arthur Allan Thomas, the man serving a sentence of life imprisonment for the Crewe murders, has been charged within the internal administration of Auckland Prison at Paremoremo with unlawfully having information taken out of the prison. The prison superintendent (Mr J. Hobson) said tonight that the charge related to the publication in an Auckland newspaper of a letter that was purported to have been written by Thomas and passed out of the prison by him to his wife, Mrs Vivienne Thomas.

Mr Hobson said it was against prison regulations

for a prisoner to communicate with the press without permission.

“This is one of the civil liberties a prisoner loses as part of his sentence,” he said.

“Although the newspaper article claimed to contain the text of a letter by Thomas, he said, in fact Thomas had said he had written a few “key words” and had given them to his wife w'hen she visited him.

Thomas had pleaded guilty to the internal charge and had been penalised by the forfeiture of seven days prison earnings —about $4.50. Thomas had the right to appeal against this, but had not so far done so, said Mr Hobson.