| Julian Knight | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Julian Knight |
| Born | 4 March 1968 |
| Penalty | 7 x Life imprisonment Non-parole period of 27 years |
| Killings | |
| Date | 9 August 1987 |
| Target(s) | Hoddle Street |
| Location(s) | Melbourne, Australia |
| Killed | 7 |
| Injured | 19 |
| Weapon(s) | Ruger 10/22 (.22 LR) Mossberg pump-action shotgun (12-gauge) M14 (7.62x51mm) |
Julian Knight (born 4 March 1968) is the mass murderer who on 9 August 1987, shot dead seven people and injured 19 during a shooting spree in Clifton Hill, Victoria, in what became known in Australian history as the Hoddle Street Massacre.
Knight is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences with non-parole period of 27 years. Victoria had provision for life imprisonment without parole, but as Knight was aged between 18-21 at the time, he was classed as a young offender meaning the sentencing judge had to give more weight to his prospects of rehabilitation. The judge who sentenced him, Justice George Hampel, stated that there were "a number of mitigatory factors" including his age and "prospects of rehabilitation."[1]
Knight currently resides in the maximum security Port Phillip Prison near Melbourne and is eligible for parole in 2014; however, the Victorian government has stated that it is "unlikely" Knight will ever be released.
Knight's case is similar to that of Mattias Flink, a 24 year-old Swedish Army Officer who shot dead seven people in 1994.[2]
Contents |
Early life
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Julian Knight is the eldest of three children. He was adopted by a family with strong army ties when he was 10 days old. His adoptive father was not a highly trained Army Officer, as reported by the press, but an Army Education Officer who taught Literacy and Numeracy, and later Chinese, to Soldiers.
Julian Knight moved often as a child, living in Melbourne and Puckapunyal, and also abroad in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. His parents divorced in 1980 when Knight was 12. He attended Westbourne Grammar School, Fitzroy High School and later Melbourne High School, a selective secondary school with entry by academic examination. An entry written by students in the 1985 Melbourne High School yearbook says:
Julian 'Swapo' Knight inherited the role of Cadet Unit looney and chief political agitator.
While at Westbourne he was noted for his fascination with guns and the military, with strong interests in Nazi Germany and the war. In 1986 he attended La Trobe University to study French, German history and politics.
Military career
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Knight joined the Army Cadets at the age of 14, and served in two cadet units, the Norwood High School Cadet Unit and the Melbourne HSCU.
Knight enlisted in the Army Reserve at the age of 17 while still in high school. He served as a Trooper in an armoured reconnaissance unit, the 4th/19th Prince of Wales' Light Horse Regiment.
Knight entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 13 January 1987, at the age of 18. While a military career had long been a dream, he performed poorly at studies and gained good results only in weapons expertise exercises.
Hoddle Street massacre
Below is a timeline of events which occurred on 9 August 1987 during the Hoddle Street massacre.
- 9.29pm - Knight leaves his mother's house armed with
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- a .22 calibre Ruger rifle,
- a 12-gauge pump-action Mossberg shotgun and
- a 7.62x51mm calibre Norinco M14 military rifle*9.30pm - Knight fires randomly at passersby using a Ruger rifle
- 9.30pm - Knight fires at passersby using the Ruger rifle
- 9.35pm - Knight fires at passersby using the Mossberg shotgun
- 9.37pm - First police unit arrives at the scene in Hoddle Street
- 9.39pm - Knight fires at passersby using the M14 rifle
- 9.44pm - First ambulances arrive at the scene in Hoddle Street
- 9.45pm - Knight withdraws from the Hoddle Street scene
- 9.46pm - Knight fires 3 shots at police car "Northcote 253"
- 9.48pm - Police Helicopter "Air 495" arrives over Clifton Hill
- 9.59pm - Knight fires a shot at Constable Colin Chambers on the Northcote end of the Queens Parade/High Street bridge, which grazes his side
- 10.05pm - Knight fires 3 shots at Police Helicopter "Air 495", forcing it to land on nearby Knott Reserve
- 10.13pm - Knight cornered in McKean Street, Fitzroy North, and fires his final shots at police
- 10.14pm - Out of ammunition, Knight surrenders and is arrested by police
Knight had no criminal record prior to the shootings in Hoddle Street, and was able to legally acquire firearms, including at the time, semi-automatic but not fully-automatic weapons.
Knight was sentenced to seven consecutive terms of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 27 years for the massacre.
Prison life
Knight is currently an inmate in the mainstream section of the maximum security Port Phillip Prison near Melbourne, Victoria, and has initiated many legal challenges to the Victorian government while imprisoned. Knight's challenges often concern events and occurrences arising during his imprisonment and his dissatisfaction with prison management and prison discipline. He has spent 12 years of his sentence in High Security "management" facilities.
In 1995 Knight obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Deakin University. Although he majored in strategic and defence studies, he also completed sub-majors in international relations, political studies, journalism and psychology. Since then he has undertaken courses in information technology, hospitality, engineering, horticulture, cleaning, fitness and first aid.
In 2000 in Barwon Prison, Knight found a fellow prisoner who had hanged himself, and tried to revive him. He later had three days taken off his sentence for meritorious conduct.
He will be eligible for parole in 2014. If he is released, he will be on parole for the rest of his life.
Legal challenges
On 7 September 1992, Knight appeared before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking a review of a decision where he was refused AUSTUDY assistance with his university studies while imprisoned.[3]
On 22 October 2001, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria in his first Supreme Court case against the prison authorities. He sought an injunction ordering that prison authorities return documents prepared for the inquest into the death of the prisoner who had hanged himself in 2000. The documents were returned in court that day and the application was dismissed.
On 4 July 2002, Knight appeared before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) with a complaint regarding an abuse of human rights where prison officers removed items "of a political nature" from his cell. The items removed were a collection of business cards, pamphlets and sheets of paper.
One sheet of the paper had a large picture of Adolf Hitler in uniform. A second had a picture of Hitler with Nazi insignia and skull and cross-bones and others only the insignia. The cards featured slogans such as "Stop the Asian invasion", "We just hate all queers", "White power" and "Dial-a-racist" with contact details.[4]
Along with the posters and paperwork, a large amount of contraband items were also located in Knight's cell, such as blades, sharpened knives, articles associated with the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazi Party, magazines, book and articles on weapons and war, medication bottles, a leather belt, two television remote controls, an extension lead, a can opener, bale hooks, permanent markers, computer disks - many containing information relating to prison security and staff, pornographic material, sandpaper, masking tape, prison manuals, staff pictures, T.A.B. betting information, and prison and staff rosters. Knight's application was dismissed, even though many of the seized items were returned to him.
On 21 August 2002, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking an injunction ordering that prison management and staff cease inspecting and withholding legal mail sent to or by the plaintiff. The application was dismissed.
On 2 September 2002, Knight appeared before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking access to various prison documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
On 9 September 2002, Knight appeared before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking "Full access to the daily staff rosters for HM Prison Barwon since the 1st May 2001" under the Freedom of Information Act. The application was affirmed.[4]
On 7 October 2003 Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking injunctions in regards to opening of private legal mail, prison disciplinary hearings, conditions in solitary confinement cells and Knight's security classification and imprisonment in Barwon Prison's high security Acacia wing. Supreme Court Judge Justice Philip Cummins said of Knight's application, "I consider that ordinary tax-payers should not be fixed with the burden of these proceedings. Accordingly, in each instance I order that the costs of the proceedings of the respective defendants be paid by the plaintiff."[5]. The application was dismissed.
On 11 November 2003, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking an extension of time against a decision of VCAT. The application was dismissed with costs awarded against the applicant.
Vexatious litigant
In February 2003, it was estimated the many legal challenges by Knight had cost the Victorian Government over AUD $250,000 and approximately $128,000 had been spent since October 2001 on external legal advice to deal with Knight's legal appeals and Freedom Of Information requests.
On 19 October 2004, Knight was barred from launching any further legal action in Victoria's courts for 10 years with a judge declaring him a vexatious litigant.[6] He was only the 13th person to be declared a vexatious litigant in Victoria since 1930, and the first prisoner. Knight is still able to make requests under the Freedom Of Information Act.
On 19 June 2008, Knight made a submission to the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee's Inquiry into Vexatious Litigants.[7]
Requests for rehabilitation
On 26 June 2007, Knight told the Supreme Court of Victoria he wants access to rehabilitation programs in prison to improve his chance of parole. He also sought permission to write a letter of "apology and explanation" to one of his victims. The court heard prison authorities intercepted a letter Knight tried to send to one of his victims. He was charged with two prison offences and spent six days in solitary confinement. Knight told the court a letter of apology did not fit the prison guidelines for a prohibited letter. Stating "A letter of apology constitutes a facet of my rehabilitation and on a small measure of making amends for my actions," he told the court. Knight was given leave by the Court to proceed with his case.[8]In June 2009 Knights sued Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls to force Huls to appear before the Supreme Court and to remove his status as a "'vexatious litigant". He also claims the status "is being used as an instrument of oppression by Corrections Victoria" and says his request for access to a personal computer in his cell was denied.[9]
On the 20th anniversary of the Hoddle Street massacre, the judge who sentenced Knight, Professor George Hampel, stood by the sentence he gave him.[10]
The Hoddle Street massacre has been the subject of a number of books and book chapters, and two Australian TV documentaries: ABC TV's award-winning "Hoddle Street" (1988) and GTV Channel 9's "Hoddle Street" (2007).
References
- ^ R v Knight [1] 1988 VIC LEXIS 530
- ^ [2]
- ^ Re: JULIAN KNIGHT And: SECRETARY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING No. V92/326 AAT No. 8228 Student Assistance - Austudy, Administrative Appeals Tribunal, 7 September 1993
- ^ a b Knight v CORE VCAT 731, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, 12 July 2002
- ^ Knight v Minister for Corrections & Ors No. 2 VSC 413, Supreme Court of Victoria, 7 October 2003
- ^ Hoddle Street killer banned from court, The Age, 19 October 2004
- ^ Submission VL/14
- ^ Law to stop criminals contacting victims, NineMSN, 22 August 2007
- ^ Hoddle St murderer's Julian Knight's evil bid June 14 2009 Herald Sun
- ^ Hoddle St judge firm on Knight, Herald Sun, 9 August 2007. [3]
External links
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008) |
- Re: JULIAN KNIGHT And: SECRETARY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING No. V92/326 AAT No. 8228 Student Assistance - Austudy, 1992
- Knight v Wise and Spadano (2002) Victorian Supreme Court 355 (27 August 2002)
- Knight v CORE (2002) VCAT 1769 (20 December 2002)
- Knight v CORE (2003) VCAT 501 (10 April 2003)
- Knight v CORE (2003) VCAT 712 (20 June 2003)
- Knight v Minister for Corrections & Ors (2003) Victorian Supreme Court 412 (7 October 2003)
- Mass killer Knight loses legal fight, The Age, 8 October 2003
- Knight v State of Victoria & Wise (2003) Victorian Supreme Court 459 (14 November 2003)
- Hoddle Street mass killer faces court curb, The Age, 10 November 2003
- Even Julian Knight is entitled to basic human rights, The Age, 25 November 2003
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