What was Julian Knight’s state of mind pertinently leading up to and during his Hoddle Street Shooting spree?
This fundamental question about his ‘mental state’, ‘rationale’, ‘justification’, ‘motivation’ and the like have been and continue to be focuses of bewilderment by the many victims families and friends, by the authorities, the media and the general public, particularly and understandably in Melbourne.
Those associated with Julian Knight in the weeks, days and hours leading up to his Hoddle Street Shootings from around 9:30pm on the night of Sunday night 9th August 1987 would be the ones most likely aware of his state of mind at the time.
This would have included Julian Knight himself obviously and those that knew him and had spoken to him, observed his behaviour, actions, comments, level of intoxication and emotional state during that antecedent period. It was that antecedent period that would have been critical in motivating/driving his spontaneous decision to arm himself with an arsenal to proceed to commit a machine gunning shooting spree on busy local 4-laned and well lit Hoddle Street. His targets were unknown, random, passers-by, just members of the local public, indeed innocent ‘civilians’.
On the day following, according to the media-published Victoria Police interview room video and onsite crime scene re-enactment by two detectives with Knight, he consistently and frankly maintained that his decision to commit and execute his shooting spree of Hoddle Street traffic had not been premediated up until his drunken brain-snap “vision” while sitting at his nearby local Royal Hotel Clifton Hotel just a hour before he started his shooting spree.
The Mental Assessments of Julian Knight
Upon his quick capture nearby by Victoria Police, Julian Knight was promptly incarcerated and interviewed by police over the ensuing weeks. Knight instantly admitted his guilt and as part of the prosecution’s case, a number of expert witnesses were seconded to assess Julian Knight’s state of mind in the lead up to the court hearing and sentencing.
Six such expert witnesses were separately engaged through the Supreme Court to interview, assess and report to the Court at the time of the hearing process [1987-1988]. Then only once again in 1997, some nine years later was a follow up 7th expert witness engaged by the Adult Parole Board of Victoria to psychiatrically examine and report on Julian Knight while he was imprisoned at the time in in H.M Prison Barwon’s high security Acacia management unit.
These were the expert witnesses:
- Dr A. Bartholomew, Aug 1987 [Psychiatrist and Psychologist]
- Dr David Syme, Aug 1987 [Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist]
- Mr. Tim Watson-Munro, Aug 1987 [Consultant Forensic Psychologist]
- IQ Testing by Mr Ian Stuart Nov 1987 [Neuropsychologist]
- Dr Kenneth Byrne, Oct 1988 [Clinical and Forensic Psychologist]
- Tim Watson-Munro, Nov 1988 [Consultant Forensic Psychologist]
- Dr Paul E. Mullen, Sep 1997 [Clinical Psychiatrist and leading Professor of Forensic Psychiatry]
The difference between a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist
The main difference between the two is that a psychiatrist has trained as a medical doctor and can prescribe medication. A psychologist is not a medical doctor and can’t prescribe medication.
Psychiatry is a specialisation as a medical doctor that involves mainly diagnosing, treating and preventing mental, emotional and behavioural disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who are experts in mental health. They specialise in diagnosing and treating people with mental illness. Psychiatrists have a deep understanding of physical and mental health – and how they affect each other. They help people with mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and addiction.
Whereas a psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to practise in the specialty of psychiatry. To become a psychiatrist one needs to have completed a medical degree, complete an on-the-job internship training in a hospital for at least 12 months, then complete training in the medical specialty of psychiatry with the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), and be registered by the Medical Board of Australia or the Medical Council of New Zealand, as well as be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Whereas psychology involves understanding human behaviour under give contexts. Psychologists assess, diagnose, and treat the psychological problems and the behavioral dysfunctions resulting from, or related to physical and mental health. In addition, they play a major role in the promotion of healthy behavior, preventing diseases and improving patients’ quality of life. Some psychologists choose to complete further training to become endorsed in specific areas of psychology, such as clinical psychology, neuropsychology, health, community, forensic, organisational, and sports and exercise psychology.
A qualified psychologist means a person who is duly licensed or certified as a clinical psychologist and has a doctoral degree in and at least two years of supervised experience in clinical psychology in a licensed hospital or mental health center. Apposite in Australia, a professional psychologist is restricted to psychologists who are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency via the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA).
Review of State of Mind
A review of each of the expert opinions by medical witnesses for the prosecution is provided on this website by clicking to the following webpage:
- Review of State of Mind (content pending)