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Tasmanian justice department review under way after AI and fake citation used in murderer’s parole decision
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Tasmania’s justice department has launched a review into possible artificial intelligence use in parole decisions after a court found a parole condition imposed on convicted murderer Susan Neill-Fraser was invalid. The review was confirmed Friday evening, four days after the state’s Supreme Court ruled against the Parole Board. The case has raised serious concerns about the use of AI in legal decision-making.
Neill-Fraser was released on parole in 2022 after serving 13 years for the 2009 murder of her partner Bob Chappell on their yacht. The Parole Board later added conditions barring her from speaking to media to claim innocence or allege wrongful conviction. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Tasmania ruled the condition invalid, citing a lack of procedural fairness.
Court proceedings revealed the Parole Board relied on a document prepared with AI assistance that cited non-existent case law. The justice department said it would review the extent to which AI may have informed past parole decisions. A spokesperson declined further comment while the review is ongoing.
The Parole Board operates independently from the department. Prisoners Legal Service Tasmania chair Greg Barns called the conditions deeply troubling and said it was extraordinary that the fabricated case law was not checked. His organisation is conducting its own audit of two years of Parole Board decisions for signs of AI use or errors.
Sarah Schwartz from the Human Rights Law Centre, which represented Neill-Fraser, said the case revealed serious deficiencies. She expressed concern that the board used AI to generate a document that severely restricted her client’s fundamental freedom to speak about her matter. The Parole Board declined to comment on individual matters or its AI use.
Attorney General Guy Barnett has written to the Parole Board seeking an explanation, calling the mistake unacceptable. Neill-Fraser, who has mounted multiple failed appeals, vowed to continue fighting to clear her name. The review and audit signal growing scrutiny of AI in Tasmania’s justice system.
