‘Move to block Hoddle St Killer Julian Knight from building online profile’
[SOURCE: 15th November, 2014 | News | Law Order | by David Hurley | https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/move-to-block-hoddle-st-killer-julian-knight-from-building-online-profile/news-story/e12f2163b3a42f7746a1dc29f8fe8dac ]
Hoddle Street mass murderer Julian Knight has been busy building his online profile to communicate with the outside world while languishing behind bars, sparking outrage from people left scarred by his massacre.
More than five months after the Sunday Herald Sun revealed evil Knight was using iExpress.org.au, dubbed “Facebook for criminals” [by the media], the 46-year-old has added photos, poems and rambling missives about his time behind bars. [Mr Hurley, the content has morphed somewhat since then].
New photographs of Knight in his army cadet days have been posted in recent months, along with a selection of poems including one titled The Meaning of Life.
Victims of crime advocates have blasted the website while Corrections Victoria has urged those in charge of the site to take it down.
Steve Wight, who was injured in the 1987 mass shooting which left seven people dead and 19 wounded, said:
“I try not to give him much thought. “Governments say they will do this and that but nothing changes — the prison system has its own rules. This is wrong but nothing I say will make it change.”
Other poems penned by the notorious gunman which have been posted on the website include The Prison, as the sum of its parts’, ‘Reception’ and ‘The Freedom of the Sky’. [GoTo: the following webpage https://julianknight.com.au/political-prisoner/knights-prison-literature/ exclusive to this website]
The [iExpress] website has been setup by prisoner advocacy group Justice Action. The group interacts with prisoners via mail and posts photographs and other materials online on their behalf.
Crime Victims Support Association spokesman Noel McNamara called the website a disgrace and questioned why the State Government hadn’t done more to stop Knight posting messages in recent months.
Mr McNamara:
“I’m very surprised nothing has been done since June,” Mr McNamara said. “It must be very hard on the victims. I’m disappointed it hasn’t been fixed and it’s time something was done about it.”
James Talia, a spokesman for Corrective Services Minister Edward O’Donohue, said: “The Coalition Government and Corrections Victoria do not support or endorse these actions.
Mr Talia:
“Those responsible for this website need to seriously consider the effects of their actions on victims of crime. Earlier this year, the Coalition Government legislated to ensure Julian Knight cannot be granted parole unless he is so elderly or incapacitated that he no longer poses a threat to the community.”
Justice Action co-ordinator Brett Collins has previously told the Sunday Herald Sun his group moderates content and has “strict rules”.
[So making this article pretty much a copy-paste of Mr Hurley’s article below of 28 June 2014, four months prior, as well as in his article April 2014, also below.
Clearly, the Herald-Sun was running a campaign a biased media campaign at the time. It was timed with Melbourne Radio 3AW’s shock jock Neil Mitchell’s very public daily campaign to pressure the then Napthine Liberal Government of Victoria pass state legislation to usurp the Judiciary’s sentencing of Mr Knight. Unelected Napthine kowtowed just before he was voted out of office and left politics – so departing with his legacy of unconstitutional infamy].
‘Social media site for prisoners proving an outlet for killer Julian Knight’
[SOURCE: 28 June 2014, by David Hurley, News, Law Order, Herald-Sun newspaper, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/social-media-site-for-prisoners-proving-an-outlet-for-killer-julian-knight/news-story/715f3460cb9be8e69318b2c1a2ad9c81 ]
Hoddle Street mass murderer Julian Knight is using a new social networking site to communicate with the outside world. The website https://www.iexpress.org.au has been dubbed “Facebook for criminals” [by the media] and has been established to help inmates with their rehabilitation.
Prisoner advocacy group Justice Action set up the web page and uploads information and images for prisoners and facilitates their contact with the public.
Knight was one of the first prisoners to take advantage of the new website and posted a picture of himself posing with boxing gloves and a punching bag. Website organisers correspond with prisoners via mail in order to post the material online. [GoTo: https://www.iexpress.org.au/8-julian-knight/]
Victims of crime advocates have blasted the website and Corrections Victoria confirmed it does not support it.
Knight (46) was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 27 years for murdering seven people and wounding 19 others in the 1987 massacre.
Crime Victims Support Association spokesman Noel McNamara called the website a “disgrace” and told the Herald-Sun he will meet Corrections Minister Edward O’Donohue this week to voice his concerns.
Mr McNamara:
“It is a deeply disturbing thing to set up. In my opinion it is garbage and should not be allowed. Prisoners have too many rights and luxuries as it is. It is an absolute disgrace and morally wrong.”
Knight’s profile is basic, with a brief description of his crimes and links to other websites about the massacre. Other prisoners have used their profile pages to give details of life inside prison, to write poetry and ask for forgiveness.
Michael Newhouse, a spokesman for Corrections Victoria, urged those in charge of the website to consider the effect it will have on crime victims.
Mr Newhouse:
“Corrections Victoria definitely does not endorse or support it. Our staff carefully vet all correspondence coming in and out of prison. We would expect iExpress to seriously consider the effect that publishing this information has on victims of crime.”
Prisoners do not have direct internet access so Justice Action prints correspondence out and delivers it to inmates. After receiving instructions from prisoners the group then writes up responses for members of the public on their behalf.
Justice Action coordinator Brett Collins said the group moderates content and has “strict rules”. He said the group is in discussions with Corrective Services NSW about allowing prisoners access to printers and online facilities — something he hopes will then be rolled out in Victoria and other states.
Mr Collins:
“This is very much a moving project. Technology will be part of their rehabilitation We monitor what goes up. Nothing aggressive goes up. The next stage is to have printers in the wings so we can use that instead of mail. We are also talking about getting computers in cells so prisoners have the ability to speak to counsellors online.”
‘Hoddle St killer Julian Knight writes to Governor to ask for mercy’
HODDLE St mass murderer Julian Knight has written to the Governor of Victoria asking him to step in to release him from Port Phillip Prison after a series of failed legal bids for freedom.
[SOURCE: 5 April, 2015 | by David Hurley | News | Law Order | Herald-Sun newspaper | https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/hoddle-st-killer-julian-knight-writes-to-governor-to-ask-for-mercy/news-story/c305e89be11229d5f1301f5fbe096ce4 ]
Hoddle Street mass murderer Julian Knight has penned a petition of mercy to the Governor of Victoria.
Knight wrote the letter to Alex Chernov asking him to step in to release him from Port Phillip Prison after a series of failed legal bids for freedom.
Knight (47) was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 27 years for murdering seven people and wounding 19 others in the 1987 massacre.
In his letter Knight argues many factors point to a low chance of him re-offending if he is ever released from jail.
Mr Knight in his letter:
“My offences occurred in a set of unique circumstances that are impossible to reconstruct. “On 16 March, forensic psychiatrist Professor Paul E. Mullen submitted a report to Corrections Victoria regarding his psychiatric evaluation of me… he (also) stated that ‘the chances, in my opinion, of Mr Knight repeating a massacre like that at Hoddle Street are remote’.”
Knight also refers to a report by Forensic Psychologist Professor James R.P. Ogloff, who said:
“Mr Knight does not exhibit any symptoms of major mental illness.”
For much of the past year Knight has been using a controversial website to communicate with the outside world. The site, iexpress.org.au, dubbed “Facebook for criminals” (by the media), has poems, photos and anecdotes about Knight’s time spent behind bars.
Prisoner advocacy group Justice Action set up the website and uploads information and images for prisoners and aids their contact with the public.
Victims of crime advocates have blasted the website and Corrections Victoria has said it does not support it. Crime Victims Support Association spokesman Noel McNamara:
“Why would you give somebody like that mercy? He killed and injured those people in cold blood and for all that misery he caused he deserves no mercy. He deserves to die in jail for what he did.”
In his letter to the Governor, Knight also questions why the parole board has not explained how his case differs from other murderers.
Knight concluded his 21-page plea by writing:
“In the event that Your Excellency is not minded to grant me mercy, I ask that Your Excellency provide me with the reasons for Your Excellency’s decision, not simply a one-sentence notification.”
[However read the context of Mr Knight’s Petition for Mercy, including the full transcript of his letter to the Governor, rather than just a few selected extracts chosen by the media, by going to webpage https://julianknight.com.au/political-prisoner/knights-prison-literature/petition-of-mercy/ on this website]