Jailed hitman Gerald Preston complains about approved list of magazines in SA prisons

Gerald Preston is one of South Australia’s most notorious killers and he’s trying to overturn a new prison policy which he likens to those found in a “third-world gulag”.

Notorious double murderer Gerald David Preston.

One of South Australia’s most notorious killers is campaigning to have a new policy that restricts prisoners’ reading material overturned.

Convicted hitman Gerald Preston — who callously executed two men in a Hells Angels sanctioned hit — says a new list of 16 approved magazines is more suited to “the juvenile and female market’’ than male prisoners.

“Personally, if find the situation absurd and I am sure that in the 21st century most of the general populous could agree,’’ he states in a protest letter sent to MPs, which has been obtained by The Advertiser.

“I am not in a third-world gulag, am I?’’

Preston, who is not eligible for parole until 2028, says he had been purchasing magazines on topics as diverse as law, computer programming and wooden boats to occupy himself during his strict high security regime — which includes being locked down for 19 hours a day.

Under a new Correctional Services policy, all prisoners can now only purchase magazines from an approved list of 16 titles including as New Idea, That’s Life, Woman’s Day, Take 5, Street Machine and Motorcycle Trader.

New Idea

The Australian Woman's Weekly.

Prisoners can make requests outside of these titles, but each must be approved by the prison manager and adhere to educational and vocational guidelines.

Preston — who will be deported to the UK when he is paroled in 2028 — is also complaining that he is still classified as a high security prisoner despite no history of escapes, assaults or drugs use during his 22 years of incarceration.

“Throughout my sentence I have endured my boring, stimulation deprived environment with the regular purchase of books and magazines serving my interests — aquaponics, art, classic cars, computer programming, cryptic crosswords, kayaking, law, wooden boats etc,’’ he states.

“All innocent stuff which has fuelled many hours of escapism …. and kept me sane.

“With no opportunity to pursue any of those nowadays; fitness, health, letters, puzzles, radio and TV suffice.’’

Preston says his high security status prevents him accessing any rehabilitation, vocational training or resocialisation programs available in a low security environment.

“Locked down 19 hours, my “groundhog days’’ are spent engaging in disciplined routine obsessively battling the ravages of time and dearth of challenging mental stimulation — hygiene, exercise, correspondence and education are my treadmills.’’

Gerald David Preston was found guilty of murdering Les Knowles and Tim Richards in 1998.

An unapologetic Correctional Services chief executive David Brown said all inmates were now subject to the new purchasing policy.

He said it had been introduced to coincide with a new electronic kiosk purchasing system in which regular canteen items, such as chocolate bars or coffee, are bought by inmates.

“That resulted in us reviewing the range of products prisoners were able to purchase through their canteen,’’ he said.

“Prisoners have always had to ability to make a special request for a purchase in the community, but they only go in once a month and are subject to review and approval by the relevant general manager.

“With those purchases they are limited to whether they are considered appropriate and consistent with the standards that should be applied in a prison environment.’’

Mr Brown said several crossword and suduko books have been approved for purchase by Preston.

“Some of the other items he wanted to purchase and may have had to opportunity to purchase in the past were not approved,’’ he said.

He said the “town” purchases, which were made by prison staff, also had to be managed so as not to impact the resources at prisons.

“We are not prisoners’ personal shoppers,’’ he said.

that's life!

Men's Health Magazine.

In 2017, Preston launched Federal Court action after being refused permission to serve out his jail term in Britain where his mother lives.

His application for a judicial review of the Federal Government decision was refused.

Preston is serving a life sentence with a 32-year non-parole period, after being convicted in 1998 of the cold-blooded executions of drug dealer Les Knowles and Tim Richards at Knowles’ auto repair business, in Lonsdale, in July, 1996.

The Supreme Court heard Preston was paid $10,000 by Melbourne-based Hells Angel Terrence Tognolini to carry out the hit, allegedly sparked by a dispute over drug dealing in the southern suburbs.

In 1999, Preston was questioned after the execution of his former partner, Vicki Jacobs, in Victoria. She was shot six times in the head and upper body as she slept next to their son, Ben, 6. Jacobs was the key prosecution witness in Preston’s murder trial in 1998 and subsequently refused police offers of witness protection.

At a coronial inquest into her death, Coroner Phillip Byrne found that “the fingers of suspicion point squarely at Gerald Preston, Terrence Tognolini and his associates as implicated in the death of Ms Jacobs’’.

THE MAGAZINES SA’S PRISONERS CAN READ

■ MEGA! Crosswords Magazine

■ Women’s Weekly puzzle book

■ New Idea

■ SFX magazine

■ Source

■ Take 5

■ That’s Life

■ TV Week

■ Woman’s Day

■ Just Cars

■ Men’s Fitness

■ Motorcycle trader

■ Sci Fi Now

■ Street Machine

■ Unique Cars

■ Women’s Health

Originally published as Jailed hitman Gerald Preston complains about approved list of magazines in SA prisons