Derek Bromley to be released on parole after serving 40 years in jail for the murder of Stephen Docoza

One of SA’s longest-serving prisoners is being freed on parole after four decades proclaiming his innocence from a prison cell.

Adelaide man Derek Bromley has been granted parole after spending four decades in jail for a crime he has consistently denied committing.

Bromley was jailed for life over the 1984 murder of Stephen Docoza of Adelaide, and is now the longest-serving Indigenous prisoner in the country.

The Parole Board approved the 62-year-old Narungga Ngarrindjeri man’s application request on Tuesday.

He will remain in custody for at least 60 more days, providing time for Attorney-General Kyam Maher, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Sarah Quick to decide if they want the decision to be reviewed.

Convicted murderer Derek John Bromley has been granted parole.

Parole Board chair Frances Nelson KC leaving the District Court.

Parole Board chair Frances Nelson KC confirmed the request was granted because of Bromley’s “exemplary” behaviour in prison.

“His institutional behaviour has been very good, we are convinced that he will not present a risk to the community if he is released on parole,” Ms Nelson told ABC News.

“He continues to maintain his innocence. He’s entitled to do that, it’s not for us to retry the issue.

“We approach it on the basis that he’s been convicted.

“We have to look at whether he is a risk to the community, whether he’s likely to comply with parole conditions, and he does satisfy both those criteria.”

Bromley was convicted of the murder of Stephen Docoza, who was fatally bashed on April 4, 1984.

Bromley has spent some time outside prison firefighting with the Country Fire Service for a decade, and helped battle the 2019 bushfires at Cudlee Creek and Kangaroo Island.

Ms Nelson said Corrections Department staff had praised Bromley for his volunteer work

“He’s spoken of very highly in terms of his CFS contribution,” Ms Nelson said.

Despite his conviction, Bromley has always adamantly denied he was present when Mr Docoza was killed near the River Torrens.

His co-accused, John Karpany, admitted his involvement in the murder and was released on parole 20 years ago in 2004.

In December last year, Bromley failed to overturn his 1984 conviction in a three-to-two majority decision ruled by the High-Court.

The court ruled Bromley’s challenges to the mental capacity, and therefore reliability, of a prosecution witness was neither “compelling nor probative” enough to warrant a new trial.

It further ruled the SA Court of Appeal was correct to have refused Bromley’s previous bid for a new trial, saying it would not have been in the interests of justice to do so.

In 2017, Bromley made an unsuccessful Court of Appeal bid to overturn his conviction, arguing Mr Docoza had already died from natural causes before falling into the river.