She said, ‘I was sitting in the shopping centre with tears rolling down my face in disbelief that he has applied for parole.’
Describing the parole eligibility as a ‘disgrace,’ she urged the parole board to reject Ireland’s application.
‘He wants to come out and live his life and that hurts big time. Don’t let him out. Let him finish his time. He doesn’t deserve to come out,’ Ms Goodwin said.
Hemi died in Townsville Hospital after suffering 78 injuries to his abdomen, a broken rib, ruptured internal organs and a severed brain stem.
He was being looked after by Ireland when Ms Goodwin was in Brisbane receiving medical treatment on a back injury,
Initially, Ireland said Hemi had suffered a seizure and even tried to blame the injuries on the toddler’s three-year-old sister.
He eventually pleaded to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Hemi’s father, Shane Burke, said the chance of Ireland getting out of jail without serving the full sentence was ‘an insult to Hemi’s memory.’
