Wellington, March 8 NZPA - Convicted double murderer John Barlow has been denied parole a third time because he is still a risk to the community, the Parole Board says.

Barlow, 64, was convicted in 1995 of the execution-style killings of Wellington father and son businessmen Eugene and Gene Thomas the previous year.

He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 14 years after being convicted in a rare third trial, but maintained his innocence.

The board said Barlow was aware members of the victims' family strongly opposed his release until he acknowledged his guilt and underwent thorough rehabilitation.

Although Barlow had consistently been assessed as being at low risk of reoffending, the board had three particular reservations about his release -- that he had traded items in prison, his attitude towards the victims' families "showed a complete lack of understanding of their predicament", and his attitude toward guns.

The board found he had "a completely inappropriate attitude to guns" when denying him parole last April.

Barlow had been trading within the prison for a number of years, by supplying prisoners with cigarettes and being paid in money with a premium, or by being given food, which "demonstrates his lack of judgment", the board said.

Barlow did not consider programmes in prison appropriate for him, and did not see the need to engage in release to work programmes or home leaves.

The board had recommended Barlow undertake reintegrative leave, including release to work and home leaves, when it considered his parole application nearly a year ago.

"We consider that he is over-confident about his ability to fit into society as a law-abiding citizen and that his involvement in the community work gang and his one home leave have not been sufficient to expose him to the reality of life outside the wire or enabled him to formulate appropriate responses to challenging situations," the board said.

The board said he posed an undue risk to the safety of the community.

He would be reviewed for parole again in August, and the board said it would support him being involved in as many temporary releases as possible in the meantime.

Barlow's final appeal to the Privy Council in London in February last year was rejected.

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