Colin Thatcher still represents a threat to society, the National Parole Board ruled Wednesday, as it denied Thatcher's  faint-hope bid for parole.

Panel chair Bob Stewart said Thatcher has only recently begun to understand the impact of his murdering his ex-wife JoAnn Wilson, and still represents a risk to the community.

"The board is concerned your gains are recent and marginal in the context of this brutal crime and the risk is not sufficiently reduced,'' Stewart told Thatcher, who showed no emotion to the decision.

Thatcher, a former Saskatchewan cabinet minister, has always insisted he's innocent of Wilson's murder. He told the panel earlier today he'll go to his grave maintaining his innocence.

Thatcher, 65, told the panel he considered himself a good husband and father before his divorce from Wilson. While he admitted to mental abuse, he denied physically abusing Wilson.

Thatcher's parole officer told the panel he could not recommend Thatcher's parole because of his refusal to admit guilt.

"We don't know what his thoughts and feelings were prior to the offence, so evaluating him today is difficult,'' said Dave Hiller. "There's nothing to evaluate in terms of change.''

Earlier, Stewart told Thatcher his denial of the murder raises serious concerns. Thatcher agreed.

"I suspect if I had admitted my guilt 20 years ago and done what they (Corrections officials) wanted me to do, there would not be many issues at this hearing," he responded.

"My maintaining my innocence is probably the biggest question you'll be weighing. I'll go to my grave maintaining my innocence."

"I'm almost 66 years old," he added. "Prison has mellowed me."

Thatcher has served nearly 20 years of his life sentence.

His sentence originally called for no parole eligibility until he had served a minimum of 25 years. However, a jury in Moose Jaw ruled last year that Thatcher had the right to apply for early parole under the so-called "faint-hope" clause.

It allows inmates to have their sentenced reviewed after 15 years, to promote rehabilitation.

Thatcher will be allowed to reapply for early parole every two years. If he is granted parole, he plans to live on the family farm in Moose Jaw, according to his lawyer, Darin Chow.

If he serves his full sentence, Thatcher will have to wait until May 7, 2009 for release.

Wilson was found beaten and shot to death on the garage floor of her Regina home on Jan. 21, 1983, a few years after leaving Thatcher and remarrying. Until her murder, she had been in a bitter custody dispute with Thatcher.

Two of JoAnn Wilson's sisters -- Carolyn Thiessen of Olympia, Wash., and Nancy Geiger of Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- read victim impact statements at the hearing.

Geiger said she's plagued by the thought of opening her front door and being shot, adding that Thatcher has never expressed any remorse for the killing.

"I'm afraid of Colin Thatcher because I can't comprehend how he could plot to kill my sister," she said.

Thatcher is the son of former Saskatchewan Liberal premier Ross Thatcher. He was a one-time cabinet minister in Grant Devine's Tory government.