Revisiting Knight’s Sentence Terms of 1988
Back on 10th November 1988, the then Supreme Court of Victoria’s sentencing justice Justice George Hampel AM QC, sentenced Julian Knight thus (pertinent extracted transcripts):
“..Accordingly, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for Life in respect of each of the seven counts of murder. For each of the 46 counts of attempted murder, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for ten years. These terms will be served concurrently with each other and concurrently with the Life sentences.
In my view, the fixing of a minimum term in this case is appropriate because of your age and your prospects of rehabilitation, as well as the other mitigatory facts I have already mentioned which justify some amelioration of your sentence, not only in your interest, but in the interest of this community. Dr Bartholomew (the testifying forensic psychiatrist as expert witness) was confident that, having regard to the crimes which you have committed, it is most unlikely that a decision to release you would be made if, after a very thorough investigation, there was any doubt about your presenting a danger to the community.
In fixing the minimum term, it is necessary to ensure that it does not destroy the punitive effect of the head sentences. On the other hand, in a case such as this an unduly high minimum term would defeat the main purpose for which it is fixed, namely your rehabilitation and possible release at a time when you would still be able to adjust to life in the community. In all the circumstances, I consider that the appropriate minimum term before which you will not be eligible for parole is 27 years.”
Julian Knight’s non-parole minimum prison term was therefore due to expire 27 years from 1987 in 2014, subject to the conditions prescribed, that is, effective rehabilitation take place such that the Parole Board deeming Knight presents no danger to the community.
3AW Neil Mitchell’s Graphic Hate Campaign
In 2011, three years ahead of Julian Knight’s scheduled finish to his minimum 27-year prison sentence and eligibility for parole (due in 2014), influential radio shock jock Neil Mitchell with the blessing and funding of his employer Melbourne-based commercial Radio Station 3AW, instigated a conserted public propaganda campaign to prevent Julian Knight from ever being released from prison. Let’s term it Mitchell’s ‘Never Release Knight Campaign‘. It has basically been a prejudiced vindictive hate campaign against Knight by Mitchell.
Glaringly obvious by omisson of shock jock Mitchell’s rhetoric has been Mitchell’s failure to connect Knight’s Duntroon bastardisation that could any way be contributory or culpable for Knight’s state of mind within weeks of Knight’s coerced resignation from Duntroon and immediately spurned from The Australian Army.
Mitchell garnered support from a former arresting police officer of Julian Knight in 1987 and from the Melbourne community to pressure the incumbent Victoria Liberal Premier to enact targeted ‘amendment’ legislation design specifically to permanently prevent Julian Knight’s judicial right to parole.
Mitchell’s researchers at 3AW cited the legislative precedent of Victorian convicted violent criminal the late Garry David, who had been sentenced in 1982 for three attempted murders and was due to be released at the expiry of his sentence in February 1991. The Victorian Government, after some lobbying by members of the public and the media, came to the view that if Garry David was released he would likely represent a danger to members of the public. So in 1990 ahead Garry David’s scheduled release, the Victorian Government drafted a Bill and passed The Community Protection Act 1990. This was a targeted ‘one-man’ law specifically to keep Garry David in perpetual custody (in case he commited future crimes).
Neil Mitchell latched on to this legislative precedent in order to politically lobby the Liberal Party government to apply likewise to Julian Knight.
Mitchell’s continued his radio on-air lobbying against Knight, using his very very close association with Victoria Police to interview police on air who had personally attend the Hoddle street crime scene at the time of the shooting and shortly afterwards.
A key influential tactic of Mitchell’s Never Release Knight Campaign involved inviting former police officers, emergency responders, victims and witnessess to account on air radio about graphic description of the carnage they had observed 26 years ago at the Hoddle street crime scene.
Mitchell interviewed the Police Chief Commissioner at the time of the shooting, Kel Glare, who stated public on air graphically of the horrific gunshot carnage:
“My vivid memory is of a young woman sitting in a car with the door hanging open, half her face missing and the street light glinting off the diamond on her engagement ring, and that young woman had a baby,” he told Radio 3AW. “There was another chap still seated at the wheel of his car, hands gripping the wheel, and shot stone dead.”
Whilst the descriptive facts of the carnage were likely real (as in war), it was immoral for Radio 3AW to radio-broadcast such graphic violence knowing that it would likely be offensive, shocking and disturbing to most listeners; particularly to children who may have been listening.
Mitchell’s radio programme ‘Mornings with Neil Mitchell‘ is currently aired weekdays between 8:30am and midday across the greater Melbourne metropolitan area and wider into regional Victoria. The programme is also downloadable by podcast, so able to be listened to at any later time 24/7 by anyone, anywhere globally.
It is likely that such violent graphic content facilitated and aired by 3AW’s programme ‘Mornings with Neil Mitchell‘ would have breached Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) standards, code of practice and the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. Such ‘shock jock’ techniques are immoral, yet employed to garner public suppprt for Mitchell’s hate campaign against Julian Knight to politically interfere with Justice Hampel’s sentencing decision terms in 1988.
On 29th July 2011, then Victorian Liberal Premier, The Hon. Edward (Ted) Norman Baillieu MP, was clearly pressured on air by Radio 3AW shock jock Neil Mitchell (pro-Liberal Party) to pass specific legislation to deny prisoner Julian Knight ever getting parole or being released from prison. Mitchell pushed for a ‘one-man statute to target Julian Knight having had his content researchers with Radio 3AW discover the precedent of such targeted legislation to deny the release of Victorian convict Garry David [Read about this separate legal case].
Watch and listen to Mitchell’s relevant video below. Presumably, after this webpage gains traction, 3AW is expected to slyly remove it from YouTube.
Ted Baillieu was then Premier of Victoria (2nd December 2010 – 6th March 2013). He resisted Mitchell’s on-air bullying – pressuring and entrapment by arranging the arresting police officer of Julian Knight challenge Baillieu unprepared:
“Either he (Knight) comes out or a law is passed to keep him in”
Premier Baillieu correctly retorted to Mitchell:
“I am not going to draft legislation in the studio”
Then Mitchell brought on air key support for his condemnation campaign by allowing the original arresting police officer Constable John Delahunty to interogate Premier Baillieu on teh issiue of passing a ‘one-man’ nere to be be release Act against Knight. It was entrapment stitch-up bullying of Premier Bailieu live on-air by Mitchell.
But Mitchell had fueled a mindset to set the legislative train in motion, to have his Liberal mates enact a “one-man” targeted Bill to keep Knight permanently in prison. It was all very public a political campaign by Mitchell on live ‘on-air’ radio.
The timing was a year prior to the lead up to the Victorian State election in December 2014. Premier Baillieu was forced to resign citing a general loss of confidence by cabinet ministers and more broadly by the Liberal Party in Baillieu’s leadership ability and perceived inability to retain power after the following election. Baillieu also immediately stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria.
Baillieu was immediately replaced succeeded by The Hon. Dr Denis Vincent Napthine MP as Premier of Victoria (6 March 2013 – 4 December 2014). But then unelected Napthine subsequently lost the November 2014 state election to the Daniel Andrews Labor government. Following Baillieu, Napthine also immediately stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria. Napthine is a doctor of veterinary science – hardly a prerequisite for good government. Baillieu was an architect, but at least he had been motivated to the Liberals because he was pissed off with costly, pro-Labor union militancy impacting his building sites.
Napthine Wrong about Knight’s Lack of Remorse
Napthine’s then Corrections Minister, Edward O’Donohue, in January 2014 blanketly claimed that Knight had shown no remorse and was still one of the worst inmates in the prison system.
Premier Napthine picked up on this publicly stating in a press conference: “he (Knight) has shown no remorse, no regret and has showed no evidence of changed behaviour.”
This is falsehood.
Dr Naphine’s Hate Bill against Knight
Liberal Party’s politics (March 2013 – 4 December 2014) have been significant to the perpetuation of Julian Knight’s incarceration beyond his 27 year judicial sentencing in 1988. since the Judiciary was undermined in 2013 by the Executive of the Victorian government.
By 2013, Mitchell’s very public hate campaign had convinced the Victorian Liberal Party’s Premier Denis Napthine to vow to never release Julian Knight from prison, by enacting a so-called ‘one-man’ statute. Having lobbied and bullied Baillieu, Mitchell subsequently heckled Dr Napthine to have a ‘one-man’ throw away the key law passed specifically targeting Julian Knight.
Dr Napthine’s Knight Hate Act
On 2nd April 2013, as Dr Napthine as he approached his first month in public office as default (unelected) Victorian Premier, on Tuesday 2nd April 2013 stated to the Herald-Sun newspaper as follows:
“Knight will never be released while ever I’m in this chair. Let’s just say he won’t be out under my watch. He’ll never be released under my watch.”
By 20th November 2013, Dr Napthine as Premier of Victoria (unelected) had had his Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel draft the following Bill with which to table in the Victorian Parliament the Corrections Amendment (Parole) Act 2014 (no.18):
After section 74 of the Corrections Act 1986 insert —
” 74AA Conditions for making a parole order for Julian Knight
(1) The Board must not make a parole order under section 74 in respect of the prisoner Julian Knight unless an application for the order is made to the Board by or on behalf of the prisoner.
(2) The application must be lodged with the Secretary of the Board.
(3) After considering the application, the Board may make an order under section 74 in respect of the prisoner Julian Knight if, and only if, the Board—
(a) is satisfied (on the basis of a report prepared by the Secretary to the Department of Justice) that the prisoner—
(i) is in imminent danger of dying, or is seriously incapacitated, and as a result he no longer has the physical ability to do harm to any person; and
(ii) has demonstrated that he does not pose a risk to the community; and
(b) is further satisfied that, because of those circumstances, the making of the order is justified.
(4) The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 has no application to this section.
(5) Without limiting subsection (4), section 31(7) of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 does not apply to this section.
(6) In this section a reference to the prisoner Julian Knight is a reference to the Julian Knight who was sentenced by the Supreme Court in November 1988 to life imprisonment for each of 7 counts of murder.”
This is the actual amendment ACT:
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Open in new tab This is not legislation that an experienced legislator or lawyer would draft, rather more like one drafted by an animal vet. A vet puts down animals every day. This dramatic new law is condemning one-man legislation, akin to putting down Knight.
Dr Napthine believes the legislation will be supported by all Members of Parliament, the victims and their families and especially members of the emergency services.
Dr Napthine:
“I think all Victorians but particularly those who are families of victims, particularly those who are in the emergency services and those who are directly affected by the Hoddle St massacre… will applaud and support this legislation because they know Julian Knight is our worst mass murderer. Our sweeping changes to Victoria’s parole system, making it the toughest in Australia, mean it’s difficult to see him ever being granted parole.”
So on 18th February 2014 the Napthine Government introduced its amendment Bill to the Victorian Parole Act into Parliament specifically to keep Julian Knight behind bars indefinitely.
This one-man law is purely to deny Julian Knight, and solely Julian Knight to severely restrict the circumstances in which the Adult Parole Board can issue hime with parole. Under the law, Knight will be eligible for parole only if he is “in imminent danger of dying or is seriously incapacitated” and as a result “no longer has the physical ability to harm any person”. Thus it will make it almost impossible for Knight to ever get parole.
Dr Napthine: “This is a special situation for Julian Knight. He deserves to rot in jail.”
Neil Mitchell Celebrates Napthine’s Knight Hate Act
On 18th February 2014, Premier Napthine introduced his Knight Hate Bill into Victorian Parliament and to publicise this he went to 3AW and was interviewed on air by Neil Mitchell.
Dr Napthine told Mitchell on air on 3AW that day:
“All Victorians will welcome this legislation. This person simply should not be afforded the possibility of parole. (This law is) specifically for Julian Knight, and we make no apologies for that. I don’t think anybody is in the league of Julian Knight, in terms of the number of murders, the number of serious injuries and his subsequent behaviour which has shown no remorse, no change in attitude towards our fellow man. “This is a specific case that warrants strong, specific attention. Julian Knight will rot in jail.”
Neil Mitchell continued his hate campaign on air.
Mitchell: “It’s disgraceful Knight has been allowed to pen a ‘dictionary for prison slang’ online.”
Mitchell then had arranged for a friend (John) of a Hoddle Street fatal victim to comment on air:
John:“I actually had lunch with that baby on Sunday and his young daughter. It just doesn’t go away. And when we hear about this person, it tends to upset a lot of people. The less we hear about him, the better.”
Mitchell then interviewed Brett Collins from Justice Action (Justice Action focuses on abuses of authority in the criminal justice and mental health systems in Australia).
Neil Mitchell: ‘Julian Knight’s been a serial pest in jail. He’s not just a mass murderer; he’s been a vexatious litigant and a serial pest.’
Brett Collins: ‘To call him that is not really fair. The victims also had rights. And they should come first.’
Neil Mitchell: ‘I don’t care about being ‘fair’ to Julian Knight, I’m afraid.’
Brett Collins: ‘He has legal rights.’
Neil Mitchell: ‘Tell him to sue me.’
Napthine’s Hate Bill repeats a bad Precedent
Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, expressed numerous concerns about the Act at the time.
“Julian Knight, whatever you think of him, has certain rights. When he was sentenced to life with 27 years, to then retrospectively say no, that’s not your right, that is grossly unfair. It also means that it sets a very dangerous precedent for governments to think they can make policy on the run to undermine peoples’ rights.”
February 18, 2014 by JAMES CAMPBELL, with Samantha Landy, HeraldSun
https://www.news.com.au/new-laws-to-deny-hoddle-st-killer-julian-knight-any-chance-of-parole/news-story/f6bd9a732ebfdcad52216575d1a5f543
criticised as going too far by rights advocates and prominent criminal lawyer Rob Stary.
But Melbourne criminal defence lawyer Robert Stary said the government had overstepped its bounds in creating the legislation.
“We have an independent judiciary, we have an independent parole board and we should not allow government to interfere with that process,” he told the station.
Liberty Victoria also criticised the move as a political one that could be challenged.
Executive officer Gillian Garner said the new laws were a case of “pre-empting any proper consideration of his case by the Adult Parole Board – the executive body tasked with that very function”.
Ms Garner labelled the move as “short-term political posturing” which set a dangerous precedent, risked an expensive legal challenge, all while it was unlikely Knight would win parole as a “troublesome, extremely difficult prisoner”.
She said instead the government should ensure the board got adequate resources to do its job.
Parliament of Victoria dabling into Double Jeopardy
In Victoria in the wake of Jill Meagher’s murder, in May 2013, the Victorian Government commissioned former High Court Justice Ian Callinan AC to carry out a review of the Adult Parole Board’s operations (the Callinan Review). The outcome of thsi relevant to Julian Knight is that Knight would have to apply to the Adult Parole Board to be considered for release — a change likely to be rolled out for other offenders.
Victoria’s unique law, the Corrections Amendment (Parole) Act 2014 came effect before May 2014, when Knight (45) became eligible to apply for parole after serving his a 27-year minimum non-parole term.
It means that Knight’s has been twice sentenced for the same offences – the 27 years by the judiciary, then Life by Dr Napthine. This is essentially the definition of double jeopardy at law. Dr Napthine overstepped the judiciary to politically advocate for the victims.
It needs to be pointed out that the Victorian Govermment in 1993 had also passed its Sentencing (Amendment) Act 1993 to catch many categories of prisoners and place them at risk of detention upon suspicion of crimes not yet committed.
Dr Napthine kowtows to Mob Rule
Dr Napthine was very vocal in his support for the Hoddle Street shooting victims and their families as well as for the Victoria Police and emergency services personnel that attended the crime scene. While this would be regarded by most as understandable, the Hodde Street shootings were committed in 1987, some 26 years before Dr Napthine started in 2013 as installed Premier reminding the Melbourne public about this historical crime. The convicted mass murderer Julian Knight, who had immediately confessed his guilt to all the shootings at the time, had by 2013 all but served out his imposed sentence of 27 years in prison. It was old news.
Rather than let the proper legal process to take its course through Victoria’s Adult Parole Board (which in 2014 had rejected Knight being released on parole), Dr Napthine chose to politically interfere in the judicial law. Dr Napthine sided with 3AW’s publicly influential shock jock Neil Mitchel to support Mitchell’s condemnation campaign against Julian Knight that he never be released from prison.
Dr Napthine politically ‘piggy-backed’ on Mitchell’s condemnation campaign against Knight makintg it a major part of his electioneering ahead of the November 2014 state election. Dr Napthine’s regular media announcements and his personal instigation of the Bill to amend the Parole Act to condemn Knight was to curry favour with Victorian voters on the issue of Law and Order. This issue is a staple, traditional one for the Liberal Party in campaign mode.
Examples of Dr Napthine’s media saturation against Knight during Dr Napthine’s election campaign (2013-2014):
“The families of Knight’s victims, the injured, even the emergency services personnel who responded that awful night in Hoddle St, understandably still bear the scars as if it had happened yesterday. They deserve, and we owe them, this certainty.”
Former police officer Donna Wood, who attended the horrific Hoddle St scene during Knight’s shooting spree, commended the government for having the “fortitude” to keep the mass murderer behind bars. And Crime Victims Support Association’s Noel McNamara said the legislation would bring “a great sense of relief” for Knight’s victims. “They’ve got a life sentence from what happened that night, and now so does he,” he said. “He’s got his just desserts.”
It’s also mob rule and ignores the independent role of the judiciary.
Napthine’s Knight Hate Act breached The Constitution
This Executive interference was an abuse of power and constitutionally illegal under the core principle of The Australia Constitution since 1st January 1901, in which the powers of the Judiciary are prescribed to be legally separate from (i.e. unable to be amended/overruled by) the powers of the Executive and likewise from the powers of the Parliament (any Federal, State or Territory parliament of the day) in its passing of any statutory legislation.
Mitchell’s public hate campaign against Knight to have Dr Napthine pass a political hate law against Knight, effectively illegally breached The Australia Constitution’s core principle that prescribes The Separation of Powers.
The High Court skirted the principles, to find suitable technicality to reject this.
Napthine’s Knight Hate Act breached Human Rights
The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 has no application to this section.
(5) Without limiting subsection (4), section 31(7) of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 does not apply to this section.
Sheep Media Silent about Duntroon’s Culpability
Cowardly Sheep Media Silent about Duntroon’s Culpability
Former police officer Peter Butts, who helped save people wounded by Knight in Hoddle St, supported the government’s move.
“This would be a great win for the community if the legislation gets up,” Mr Butts said.
Mr Butts and colleague Sen-Sgt Tim Edgeworth took extraordinary risks in saving people severely wounded by Knight.
The pair, not wearing protective vests, evaded gunfire and grabbed the overcoats of officers to shield an injured Gina Papaioannou from the cold.
Ms Papaioannou succumbed to her injuries 11 days later.
Mr Butts left the force in 1996 and is now a private investigator.
Ms Wood, also attended the horrific Hoddle St scene during Knight’s shooting spree..
“I am so excited to hear this news,” she said.
“I live in a town where there’s a prison, and the thought of him even coming to the town where I am makes me uncomfortable.
“I want to congratulate the government for making a stand. I’m so pleased they’re thinking about all Victorians and all Australians.”
Ms Wood said memories of the night still haunted her.
“It never leaves you,” she said.
Corrections Minister Edward O’Donohue said Knight had shown no remorse and was still one of the worst inmates in the prison system.
“He is still in maximum ¬security,” he said. “He has been a difficult prisoner, and he is classified a vexatious litigant.
“Just last month he’s alleged to have committed another horrific assault on a prisoner.”
If passed, the new law would be only the second such piece of legislation enacted by Parliament to keep an individual in jail.
It is almost certain to be challenged in court by Knight.
In a recent letter to the Herald Sun, the mass murderer vowed to fight any move to keep him inside, claiming he had been assessedas being at a low risk of reoffending violently.
“Are the State Government and the Adult Parole Board, by not arguing against the release of any other murderer, claiming that I am the only murderer whose risk of reoffending is unacceptable?” he wrote.
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New law written to keep Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight in jail for life
Victorian government takes ‘unusual’ step to block the impending parole of Melbourne mass murderer
Julian Knight killed seven people and injured 19. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP
Tue 18 Feb 2014, by Australian Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/18/new-law-written-to-keep-hoddle-street-killer-julian-knight-in-jail-for-life
Melbourne mass murderer Julian Knight will remain behind bars until he is dead or so ill he will pose no risk to others, under a new law created just for him.
The Hoddle Street killer, who was sentenced to life in prison with a 27-year non-parole period for killing seven people and injuring 19 during a rampage in 1987, is eligible for parole in May.
But the government has stepped in and unveiled a new law to be introduced into parliament on Tuesday severely restricting the circumstances in which the adult parole board can grant Knight parole.
The premier, Denis Napthine, said the law would apply solely to Knight, who has failed to show any remorse for murdering seven people and injuring 19 others during a shooting rampage in 1987.
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“This is guaranteeing that he remains in jail until he’s dead or so seriously incapacitated he’s no risk to other people in Victoria or indeed in the community,” Napthine told reporters on Tuesday.
Napthine admitted the legislation, which will name Knight, is unusual but warranted in the circumstances.
He said his government’s toughening of parole laws would have made it “extremely unlikely” Knight would have received consideration for parole, but the government wanted certainty.
“To create certainty for victim’s families, for those traumatised by the Hoddle Street massacre, for those Victorians who want a safer Victoria, we wanted the certainty to ensure Mr Knight remained behind bars,” he said.
Napthine said Knight, who is in maximum security jail, had been a difficult prisoner and declared a vexatious litigant.
“He has a history of issues in prison, which shows he has no respect for the health, safety and wellbeing of his fellow man,” he said.
Peter Butts, one of the first police officers to respond to the Hoddle Street massacre in Melbourne’s Clifton Hill, said there would be wide support for the new law.
“Certainly the comments that I’ve heard this morning from the premier and others would be well and truly endorsed,” Butts said.
“I genuinely believe it’s a huge win for the community at large, particularly if this legislation is passed.”
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New law to keep Hoddle St killer in jail
February 18, 2014 by AAP
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/new-law-to-keep-hoddle-st-killer-in-jail-20140218-32wu2.html
Julian Knight, Victoria’s worst mass murderer, will remain behind bars until he is dead or so ill he will pose no risk to others under a new law created just for him.
The Hoddle Street murderer, who was sentenced to life in prison with a 27-year non-parole period, is eligible for parole in May.
But the government has stepped in and unveiled a new law to be introduced into parliament on Tuesday, severely restricting the circumstances in which the Adult Parole Board can grant Knight parole.
Premier Denis Napthine says the law will apply solely to Knight, who has failed to show any remorse for murdering seven people and injuring 19 others during a shooting rampage in 1987.
‘‘This is guaranteeing that he remains in jail until he’s dead or so seriously incapacitated he’s no risk to other people in Victoria or indeed in the community,’’ Dr Napthine said.
Dr Napthine admitted the legislation, which will name Knight, is unusual but was warranted in the circumstances.
He said his government’s toughening of parole laws would have made it ‘‘extremely unlikely’’ Knight would’ve received consideration for parole, but the government wanted certainty.
‘‘To create certainty for victim’s families, for those traumatised by the Hoddle Street massacre, for those Victorians who want a safer Victoria, we wanted the certainty to ensure Mr Knight remained behind bars,’’ he said.
Dr Napthine said Knight, who is in maximum security jail, had been a difficult prisoner and declared a vexatious litigant.‘‘He has a history of issues in prison which shows he has no respect for the health, safety and wellbeing of his fellow man,’’ he said.
Peter Butts, one of the first police officers to respond to the Hoddle Street massacre, said there would be wide support for the new law.
‘‘Certainly the comments that I’ve heard this morning from the Premier and others would be well and truly endorsed,’’ Mr Butts told radio station 3AW.
‘‘I genuinely believe it’s a huge win for the community at large, particularly if this legislation is passed.’’
Knight has been declared a vexatious litigant after many court appearances relating to his parole and other matters.
Just last month the 45-year-old was alleged to have been involved in a prison assault that left another inmate in hospital with a broken jaw.
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WHY KNEE-JERK POLITICS FOR JULIAN KNIGHT CUTS ACROSS THE RULE OF LAW
Tue, 18/02/2014
https://libertyvictoria.org.au/node/406
As the community contemplates the Victorian Government’s decision to, as Premier Denis Napthine puts it, have the Hoddle Street murderer Julian Knight “rot in jail”, it is worth looking at similar cases.
Back in 1990 the Government wanted to keep Gary David, a seriously mentally ill offender, in jail. It succeeded and three years later he killed himself. He was 38 and had been in institutions for all but five years of his life. In the laws framed especially for David there was an annual review by the Supreme Court. That small concession by the government created a modest safeguard which is not apparent in the proposed Knight law.
Based on the Victorian legislation, the New South Wales Parliament then passed a law to try to enforce preventative detention against Gregory Wayne Kable, but in 1996 this was overturned by the High Court as unconstitutional. He had been serving five years for the manslaughter of his wife.
Now, despite that High Court judgment, the Napthine Government wants Knight put away almost indefinitely, pre-empting any proper consideration of his case by the Adult Parole Board – the executive body tasked with that very function.
The public is entitled to deplore Julian Knight, who in addition to the Hoddle Street massacre when aged 19, is said to have been a troublesome, extremely difficult prisoner who recently allegedly attacked another inmate. This makes it unlikely that he would be granted parole.
But Liberty Victoria believes that wider public consultation is required before the rule of law is overturned in pursuit of short term political posturing. Knight was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Victoria by a very experienced judge and the Office of Public Prosecutions determined not to appeal against that sentence. He is entitled to his case being considered on its merits by the Adult Parole Board.
If an exception is made by the government for Knight, then this can easily lead to further exceptions in the future when it is politically expedient. That sets a dangerous precedent.
The Adult Parole Board is the proper body to decide whether Knight qualifies for parole or must remain in prison serving his life sentence.
A better approach would be to equip the Board with adequate resources so that it can undertake careful assessments before releasing high risk offenders.
There is irony in the government, instead of properly resourcing the Board despite the findings of the Callinan review, deciding to target a person found to be a vexatious litigant, using retrospective legislation aimed specifically at that individual. That will invariably be challenged through the Courts at great public expense. Surely the costs of that litigation would be better spent properly funding the Board so that it can properly assess the risk of offenders, including ensuring that it has access to the full history of such offenders. Equally, the funds would be better spent making sure that Victoria Police had adequate resources to determine whether there are warrants for the arrest of alleged offenders. That would mean better community protection.
Premier Napthine says the Adult Parole Board had stated that Knight would not be released in the foreseeable future. Minister O’Donohue says Knight shows no remorse and remains and one of the worst prisoners in the system. He is held in maximum security. All of this suggests that there is no pressing need for emergency legislation disrupting the critical separation of powers between the government and the courts which will only succeed in more public expense while that legislation is challenged.
The community is entitled to proper protection through an adequately resourced Adult Parole Board. It should not foot the bill of knee-jerk legislation looking to control the media cycle in an election year.
For further comment or interviews please contact Liberty Victoria President, Jane Dixon SC on or Michael Stanton, Vice President.
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2nd August 2016:
Victorian mass murderer Julian Knight hires top lawyers to try get out of jail
Hoddle Street mass killer Julian Knight leaves the Supreme Court in Melbourne, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. (AAP)
Convicted Victorian mass murderer Julian Knight has hired lawyers in a bid to overturn a law that is keeping him behind bars.
Knight, who was convicted of killing seven people and injuring 19 during a shooting spree in Clifton Hill in 1987, is fighting legislation that was introduced by the previous Liberal government aimed specifically at keeping him in jail, the Herald Sun reports.
The legislation is aimed at keeping Knight behind bars until he is no longer able to reoffend, despite him being eligible for parole two years ago.
When the new law was introduced, former Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said it would apply solely to Knight, who he said showed no remorse for the shooting rampage.
Mr Napthine said Knight would be jailed until he was either too frail to reoffend or was on his deathbed.
Lawyers for 48-year-old Knight are expected to argue that the “corrections amendment” is contrary to the Commonwealth Constitution, the newspaper reports.
Victims of Crime Commissioner Greg Davies says he did not think the laws would be changed.
“I’m sure the finest legal minds in the land will be aware that he attempted to murder 29 people and killed seven of them. If the law says he’s entitled to get out, we may as well do away with prisons,” he told the Herald Sun.
In documents obtained by the newspaper, Knight argues the legislation “interferes with or substantially eliminates” the discretion of the Adult Parole Board.
Knight pleaded guilty to shooting rampage on November 10, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years.
17th Aug 2017:
The Hoddle Street Killer’ will remain behind bars, High Court decides
Just before the period expired in 2014, the Victorian Government introduced laws which prevented Knight from seeking parole unless he was seriously incapacitated or in imminent danger of dying.
Knight challenged these laws, arguing they interfered with the independence of Victoria’s Supreme Court which imposed the initial non-parole period.
Before the decision was handed down today, there was much discussion as to how the High Court would handle this issue.
In 1994 the High Court held that a NSW law, which allowed the Supreme Court to order Gregory Kable – who was then due to be released – remain in prison, was unconstitutional. It was held to offend the ”separation of powers” doctrine, which requires the judiciary to work separately from the executive and Parliament.
However, the bill naming Knight involves parole, which is an executive function, rather than the judicial function of imprisonment (as in Kable’s case).
The High Court today found the laws keeping Knight in jail did not interfere with the sentence imposed by Victoria’s Supreme Court, as the decision on parole fell outside that Court’s powers.
It was held that the sentences of imprisonment for life imposed by Victoria’s Supreme Court provided the authority for the imprisonment of Mr Knight during the term of his natural life.
“By making it more difficult for Mr Knight to obtain a parole order after the expiration of the minimum term, [the new law] does nothing to contradict the minimum term that was fixed” the High Court found.
When the laws were introduced in 2014, Victoria’s then premier Denis Napthine said Knight “deserved to rot in jail”.
“This is a special situation for Julian Knight,” he said.
“Julian Knight is our worst mass murderer. (He was) convicted of seven murders and has a history of further inappropriate behaviour and disrespect for our fellow man whilst in jail.”
Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight loses High Court fight against laws keeping him in jail
The laws have prevented Knight from applying for parole
Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight, one of Australia’s most notorious mass murderers, has lost a last ditch High Court fight to overturn laws specifically designed to keep him in prison indefinitely.
Knight killed seven people in Melbourne’s Hoddle Street in a shooting spree in 1987, injuring 19 others.
The laws have prevented Knight from applying for parole.(AAP: Julian Smith, file photo)
He was later sentenced to life in prison, with a 27-year non-parole period.
Just before the period expired in 2014, the Victorian Government introduced laws naming Knight, and preventing him from seeking parole unless he was seriously incapacitated or in imminent danger of dying.
But Knight challenged the laws, arguing they interfered with the independence of the court which imposed the non-parole period.
The High Court today found the laws keeping Knight in jail did not interfere with the sentence imposed by Victoria’s Supreme Court, as the decision on parole fell outside the court’s powers.
“Whether or not Mr Knight would be released on parole at the expiration of the minimum term was simply outside the scope of the exercise of judicial power constituted by imposition of the sentences,” the court found.
When the laws were introduced in 2014, Victoria’s then-premier Denis Napthine said Knight “deserved to rot in jail”.
Knight recently wrote an open letter of apology to his victims, the police and the public, in which he described his crimes as “despicable, cowardly and senseless”.
“Thirty years have passed since the Hoddle Street shootings and I am far from the immature, disturbed and desperate teenager who committed them,” he wrote.
“If I had been granted parole back in 2014 I would have very quickly faded into obscurity.”
Julian Knight’s legal battles:
• February to May, 1987: Knight alleges that during this time there were 10 incidents of verbal and physical abuse at Duntroon military college.
• August 9, 1987: Knight goes on shooting spree at Clifton Hill, killing seven people and injuring 19 others.
• November 10, 1988: Knight is sentenced to a minimum 27 years’ jail, not eligible for parole until May, 2014, after pleading guilty to all charges.
• October 19, 2004: Knight is declared a vexatious litigant for 10 years, meaning he requires specific permission from the courts for any legal action. This was after he had launched 40 actions, of which only 10 proceeded.
• March 7, 2014: Knight wins the right to access a computer to help with his legal applications.
• March, 2014: The Victorian Government passes a law so Knight cannot get parole unless he is in imminent danger of death or serious incapacitation, so that he is not a danger to anyone. The law passes just before he becomes eligible for parole, and targets only him.
• August 30, 2016: Knight is declared a vexatious litigant for life. He had attempted to launch 40 legal proceedings in the decade since being declared a vexatious litigant, and had been granted leave to pursue just 10 of those cases.
• September 15, 2016: Knight loses a Federal Court challenge to be considered for compensation for alleged abuse at Duntroon. He was knocked back by the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce. He applied when prisoners’ reparation payments could be put into a trust, but the law was changed so that did not apply to those convicted of very serious crimes.
• January 17, 2017: Knight loses his bid for an extension of time to pursue damages against the Commonwealth.
• March 18, 2017: Knight asks the High Court to rule that the Victorian law keeping him in jail is invalid under the Constitution, arguing it interferes with the independence of the courts.
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High Court decides if Hoddle Street killer will spend life behind bars
By Michael Inman and Megan Gorrey
Updated August 17, 2017
https://www.smh.com.au/national/high-court-decides-if-hoddle-street-killer-will-spent-life-behind-bars-20170817-gxy3na.html
Victorian mass killer Julian Knight will spend the rest of his life in jail after the High Court found retrospective laws to keep him locked up did not breach the constitution.
The Hoddle Street shooter is serving a life sentence, with a non-parole period of 27 years, for killing seven and injuring 19 during a 1987 shooting rampage in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill.
Knight had been eligible for parole in 2014 until the Napthine Government rushed through legislation severely restricting the circumstances in which the Adult Parole Board can grant the convicted killer release.
Hoddle Street killer will spend life behind bars
Mass killer Julian Knight will spend the rest of his life in jail after the High Court found retrospective laws to keep him locked up which does not breach the constitution.
Mass killer Julian Knight will spend the rest of his life in jail after the High Court found retrospective laws to keep him locked up which does not breach the constitution.
Under the tough new laws, Knight must stay behind bars until he is dead or so incapacitated he is no longer a risk to the community.
But Knight challenged the laws in the High Court, arguing the amendments had been unconstitutional as it had been contrary to Chapter III of the Commonwealth Constitution.
Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight lost an attempt to have a law keeping him in jail overturned.
He said the legislation to keep him behind bars interfered with the sentences imposed by the Supreme Court, and meant judicial officers on the parole board engaged in roles that were incompatible with the exercise of federal jurisdiction by the courts.
The full bench of the court knocked back both arguments in a decision on Thursday.
“The first argument fails because neither in its legal form nor in its substantial practical operation does the section interfere with the sentences imposed by the Supreme Court.
“The second argument fails because the Board has not in fact been constituted, and does not need to be constituted, to include a judicial officer for the purpose of performing the function conferred by the section.
“Whether the function conferred by the section would be repugnant to or incompatible with the exercise of federal jurisdiction by the court of which a judicial officer is a member is not appropriate for determination.”
Knight was ordered to pay costs.
He has previously attempted to get around the laws after failed attempts to transfer to Canberra jail.
Knight had asked for charges against him- in relation to the stabbing of a fellow Duntroon staff cadet at a Canberra nightclub less than three months before the deadly rampage – be reinstated.
The former Duntroon staff cadet pledged to plead guilty to the charges provided he was extradited from Victoria to the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Once in Canberra, he could then reapply for parole free of the Victorian legislation.
Knight, who was last year declared a vexatious litigant for life in Victoria, has launched a wave of lawsuits that included failed bids to secure victim compensation from the ACT government and the Commonwealth.
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High Court upholds validity of ad hominin parole legislation directed at the Hoddle Street killer, Julian Knight
August 2017 by Wendy Ussher
https://www.crownlaw.qld.gov.au/about/news/high-court-upholds-validity-of-ad-hominin-parole-legislation-directed-at-the-hoddle-street-killer-julian-knight-knight-v-state-of-victoria
On 18 August 2017, the High Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Knight v State of Victoria [2017] HCA 29 (17 August 2017), affirming the broad legislative powers of State Parliaments to limit access to parole for serious violent offenders.
Julian Knight was responsible for one of Australia’s worst mass shootings. The event known as the ‘Hoddle Street massacre’ occurred in Melbourne on 9 August 1987. In 1988, Mr Knight pleaded guilty to seven counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to imprisonment for life for each count of murder, and 10 years imprisonment for each count of attempted murder (each sentence to be served concurrently), with a fixed non-parole period of 27 years. His non-parole period was due to expire on 8 May 2014. However, on 2 April 2014 the Victorian Parliament amended the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) by inserting s 74AA, headed “Conditions for making a parole order for Julian Knight”. The effect of s 74AA is to prevent the Adult Parole Board from ordering Mr Knight be released on parole unless satisfied that, amongst other things, he is in imminent danger of dying or is seriously incapacitated, and as a result he no longer has the physical ability to do harm to any person. Mr Knight is not presently in imminent danger of dying or seriously incapacitated.
But for its ad hominem nature, s 74AA is effectively identical to s 154A of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW), which the High Court upheld as valid in the earlier decision of Crump v New South Wales (2012) 247 CLR 1. The impugned legislation in Crump applied to a class of prisoners serving life sentences and who were deemed serious offenders subject to non-release recommendations. The impugned legislation in Knight names Julian Knight and no other as the prisoner to which the section applies.
Mr Knight challenged the validity of s 74AA in the High Court, seeking a declaration that it is invalid on the ground that it is contrary to Ch III of the Constitution. The Attorney-General of Queensland intervened in support of Victoria, as did the Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. The Solicitor-General, Peter Dunning QC and Senior Deputy Crown Solicitor, Tony Keyes appeared on behalf of the Attorney-General, instructed by Wendy Ussher of the Constitutional Law team.
Mr Knight advanced two arguments, each seeking to invoke the Kable principle (Kable v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (1996) 189 CLR 51). That is, a State law which substantially impairs the institutional integrity of a State court so as to be incompatible with its role as a repository of federal jurisdiction under Ch III of the Constitution, is invalid.
The first argument advanced by Mr Knight was that s 74AA interfered with the sentence imposed by the Supreme Court. His second argument was that the section enlisted judicial officers who are members of the Adult Parole Board in a function that is repugnant to or incompatible with the exercise of federal jurisdiction by the courts of which those judicial officers were members. Mr Knight sought to distinguish the Crump provision on the basis that s 74AA expressly targets him alone. In the alternative, if Crump could not be distinguished, Mr Knight argued that Crump should be reopened and overruled.
In a joint judgment, the Full Court of the High Court unanimously dismissed Mr Knight’s challenge.
In relation to Mr Knight’s first argument, the Court found that s 74AA does not interfere with the sentence imposed by the Supreme Court. The Court observed that there are circumstances in which the party-specific nature of legislation can be indicative of the tendency of that legislation to interfere with an exercise of judicial power, but this was not such a case. Further, whether or not Mr Knight would be released on parole at the expiration of the imposed non-parole period was a matter for the legislature.
As for Mr Knight’s second argument, the Court held that as the Adult Parole Board was not in fact constituted to include a current judicial officer, nor was there any requirement for it to be constituted in such a way, it was unnecessary and inappropriate to determine this point. The Court went on to note that if the Board had been constituted in such a way, s 74AA would be construed in accordance with s 6 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), that is, to have valid application in circumstances in which the Board did not include a judicial officer. The Court held that Crump cannot be distinguished and should not be reopened. The fact that s 74AA had a more specific operation than the Crump provision is a distinction without difference. The Crump provision targeted a close class of prisoners, namely ‘serious offenders the subject of a non-release recommendation’. The legal and practical operation of the Crump provision in respect of each member of that class, including Mr Crump, was identical in substance to the legal and practical operation of s 74AA in respect of Mr Knight.
References:
[1] Neil Mitchell radio video interview, 29th July 2011, radio presenter Neil Mitchell, Radio 3AW Melbourne Pty. Limited, Media House, Level 7, 655 Collins Street, Docklands, Victoria, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO5qsadDTcA&t=76s
[2] ‘Premier Denis Napthine vows to never release mass killer Julian Knight‘, 3rd April 2013, by James Campbell, Herald-Sun newspaper, Fairfax Media, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/premier-denis-napthine-vows-to-never-release-mass-killer-julian-knight/news-story/e0ea50960d6732eb01d1900f125404e6
[3] ‘Government to legislate to keep Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight in jail indefinitely‘, 18th February 2014, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-18/government-to-legislate-to-keep-julian-knight-in-jail-indefinit/5266120
[4] ‘New laws to deny Hoddle St killer Julian Knight any chance of parole‘, 18th February 2014, by James Campbell and Samantha Landy, Herald-Sun (Fairfax Media), https://www.news.com.au/new-laws-to-deny-hoddle-st-killer-julian-knight-any-chance-of-parole/news-story/f6bd9a732ebfdcad52216575d1a5f543
[5] ‘New law written to keep Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight in jail for life‘, Tue 18 Feb 2014, by Australian Associated Press, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/18/new-law-written-to-keep-hoddle-street-killer-julian-knight-in-jail-for-life
[6] ‘New law to keep Hoddle St killer in jail‘, 18th February 2014, by Australian Associated Press, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/new-law-to-keep-hoddle-st-killer-in-jail-20140218-32wu2.html
[7] ‘Why Knee-jerk politocs for Julian Knight cuts across the rule of law‘, 18th February 2014, Liberty Victoria (a Melbourne-based not-for-profit civil liberty advocacy), https://libertyvictoria.org.au/node/406
[8] ‘Victorian mass murderer Julian Knight hires top lawyers to try get out of jail‘, 2nd August 2016, by 9NEWS, https://www.9news.com.au/national/victorian-mass-murderer-julian-knight-hires-top-lawyers-to-try-get-out-of-jail/049fa3cd-378a-435f-bb73-493e152a9645
[9] ‘Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight loses High Court fight against laws keeping him in jail‘, 17th August 2017, by Elizabeth Byrne and staff, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-17/julian-knight-hoddle-street-killer-loses-high-court-fight/8815834
[10] ‘High Court decides if Hoddle Street killer will spend life behind bars‘, 17th August 2017, by Michael Inman and Megan Gorrey, Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media), https://www.smh.com.au/national/high-court-decides-if-hoddle-street-killer-will-spent-life-behind-bars-20170817-gxy3na.html
[11] ‘The Hoddle Street Killer’ will remain behind bars, High Court decides‘, 17 August 2017, https://aulich.com.au/hoddle-street-killer-will-remain-behind-bars-high-court-decides/
[12] ‘High Court upholds validity of ad hominin parole legislation directed at the Hoddle Street killer, Julian Knight‘, August 2017 by Wendy Ussher, principal lawyer at Crown Law, https://www.crownlaw.qld.gov.au/about/news/high-court-upholds-validity-of-ad-hominin-parole-legislation-directed-at-the-hoddle-street-killer-julian-knight-knight-v-state-of-victoria