On 7th August 2020: News Corp’s The Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne reported that Julian Knight (at age 52) had reportedly been taken to hospital after deciding to stop eating and drinking as a last-ditch humanitarian protest.
Knight was transported to St Vincent’s Hospital in what is believed to be a serious condition. Details about the nature of that so-called contraband was not reported by the media.
Knight has been in maximum security at Corrections Victoria’s Port Phillip Prison in Truganina (located near Laverton) for decades.
According to Justice Health, the operator of Port Phillip Prison’s G4S Correctional Services, subcontracts St Vincent’s Correctional Health Services for primary health services, outpatient health services and secondary residential mental health services for prisoners at the prison. St Vincent’s Hospital has a secure ward to treat prisoners, which is not accessible by the general public.
Corrections Victoria states that an ambulance is called for prisoners in need of emergency care and they are taken to the nearest hospital emergency department. Asked about the case of Knight, a spokeswoman told news.com.au: “Corrections Victoria does not comment on matters involving individual prisoners.” Fair enough.
Fake & Biased Mainstream Media Reporting
But disappointingly, the 7-News television reporting of this news story chose to emphasise prejudiced anecdotes about Julian Knight. The reporting reveals the relentless cliched ignorance and mainstream bias against this man who has served out his prison sentence to the letter of the 1988 court justice.
The 7-News reporting also included the following cliched ignorant slurs against Knight:
- “Mass murderer Julian Knight is taking up a hospital bed” – so what he has no rights to healthcare?
- 7-News journalist Georgia Comensoli (right below) stated falsely that Knight is serving out “7 life sentences”, which is false. What 7 x 25 years so 175 years? The truth is that Knight’s imposed non-parole concurrent prison term of 27 years for the seven murders (and other attempted murders) in 1987 as ruled by then Justice Hempel in 1988, which lapsed in 2014.
- “He’s in a serious condition but with our hospital system at breaking point dealing with Coronavirus there is little sympathy for the mass murderer taking up the precious time of our doctors and nurses”. What? So Knight has no rights to healthcare, and so how dare he take up hospital treatment? You hatefuls!
- “Knight was caught with contraband” – well a quick scan of the Internet reveals that this subject “contraband” was likely the prescribed drug buprenorphine used to treat Knight’s chronic bowel pain. Knight has long been diagnosed with inflammatory intestinally crohn’s disease. 7-News journos should fairly give a crap to do actual journalistic research; it’s not rocket science with the Internet. Buprenorphine is a medicinal opioid used to treat acute pain and chronic pain.
But never let facts get in the way of tabloid goss and shock, eh Kerry Stokes?
This billionaire largely owns and controls 7-News through his company Seven West Media, which has a political influential bet each way with the mainstream Liberal and Labor Parties. Both have supported the Victorian hate law that trounces Justice Hemple’s sentencing of knight to condemn Knight to never be released unless on his death bed – so unAustralian and draconian.
Both the Victorian Liberal Party and Labour Party have endorsed the 2014 Napthine hate law that denieS Julian Knight natural justice by overruling the Victorian Supreme Court’s 1988 decision to sentence Julian Knight to a maximum concurrent non-parole period of 27 years for the 1987 Hoddle Street Shooting murders of seven people. Denis Napthine while Victorian Premier for just 19 months, executed his hateful political condemnation of Julian Knight that he serve a perpetual sentence for the draconian term of his natural life.
