Notorious life parolee Dean Wickliffe has been granted bail to care for his dying partner.
Judge Thomas Ingram made the decision on humanitarian grounds in Tauranga District Court today.
Wickliffe, 60, allowed his passive expression throughout the lengthy bail application hearing to give way to a smile when the judge announced the outcome.
The convicted killer, who has spent the greater part of his life behind bars, will be bailed to Maketu near Te Puke under 24-hour curfew.
A raft of conditions includes a ban on alcohol and non-prescription drugs.
Last month, the full Parole Board considered his case and said it would release him from jail on December 10, under electronic monitoring, if he was bailed on four drugs and firearms possession charges.
Wickliffe was living at the Maketu house which will be his bail address with his partner of more than seven years, Dionne Chapman, when it was raided by police in March this year.
He was recalled to prison and, after a depositions hearing in the Tauranga court four months later, committed to stand trial in June 2009.
Judge Ingram said the charges Wickliffe faced were serious.
However, his age, his partner's medical condition and the strict terms of the parole conditions "persuaded" the judge to grant bail.
The "sad history" of Wickliffe's previous offending was well known and he had served his sentence for it.
Crown prosecutor Heidi Wrigley opposed bail, saying the court's decision should not be influenced by the favourable Parole Board hearing.
She said the primary concern was the risk of re-offending.
The charges Wickliffe currently faced had the hallmarks of his previous crimes involving firearms and drugs.
His partner's admitted involvement with cannabis could temp him to revert to drug use, Mrs Wrigley said.
Ms Chapman had managed to cope for the past few months without Wickliffe as her primary caregiver, although she needed him emotionally "without a doubt".
Mrs Wrigley also expressed concern about the distance from Maketu to the closest 24-hour police station - a possible 30 minute delay if there should be a breach of curfew.
Wickliffe's lawyer, Peter Kaye, acknowledged concerns about a risk of reoffending and of possible flight but stressed the humanitarian grounds for bail.
The matter was "finely balanced" but his client's release would be under tightly managed conditions.
Ms Chapman was receiving intensive treatment for breast cancer which had spread, said Mr Kaye.
"It is terminal and time is short."
