Julian Knight, the Hoddle Street mass murderer, thinks the government has been maliciously denying him a PC and game console.
In 1987 Julian Knight, then a 19-year-old army officer cadet, went on a 48 minute shooting rampage in Melbourne’s Hoddle Street, killing seven and injuring 19 others. Arrested and charged as a young adult, he’s currently serving what amounts to seven life sentences; though he is eligible for parole in 2014, the Victoria government has gone on record as saying it’s unlikely that Knight will ever be released. It’s also unlikely, as Knight has discovered, that he’ll ever get the computer and PlayStation console he’s been asking for. So Knight has decided to sue the government to get what he wants.
He’s been trying to get a computer, to help him study and prepare for an appeal, since 2006. The PlayStation is a more recent request. “I only have to walk around the prison and I can see with my own eyes who has a computer and who doesn’t,” says Knight. “I’m the only prisoner who has made applications to have a computer who has had it denied and denied repeatedly.” As a vexatious litigant, his first step must be to prove to the court that his application would not be doomed to fail, as he needs the court’s permission before he can even start a proceeding.
The case is pending, and will be heard next week.
Source: Herald Sun
