Adam Skinner, son of Julian Knight victim, says he never be paroled
UPDATE 3pm: THE State Opposition wants to make sure that life means life for Julian Knight and he is never released on parole.
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UPDATE 3pm: THE State Opposition wants to make sure that life means life for Julian Knight and he is never released on parole.
Opposition leader Ted Baillieu says he hopes Knight is never released from prison.
"In government we will respect the process but we will ensure that Julian Knight is not released,'' Mr Baillieu said.
"I don't think Julian Knight should be released.''
His comments come after an emotional appeal from the son of a Hoddle St massacre victim in the Herald Sun this morning.
Adam Skinner was 18 months old, sitting on his mother's lap in the family car, when she was shot in the head and killed.
For 23 years he has kept silent on the mass murder that tore his family apart and shocked Australia.
But now he has decided to speak publicly for the first - and he says only - time in a bid to ensure killer Julian Knight will never be released.
Read Adam Skinner's emotional account of his only memories of his mother
As he spoke out, an investigator who spoke to Knight on the day of the Hoddle St massacre, today said the mass murderer had shown no signs of remorse.
Corrections Minister Bob Cameron also speaking in response to today's exclusive said he believed Knight had little hope of ever getting parole, as he expressed sympathy with Mr Skinner and other friends and family who had suffered from the deaths.
Next week marks the anniversary of his mother Tracey Skinner's brutal death. But it's 2014 Mr Skinner fears most.
Knight, who killed seven people and injured 19 others during his 1987 shooting rampage, was jailed for a minimum of 27 years, making him eligible for parole in less than four years.
"He took away my childhood, he took away my mother, and pretty much destroyed our family, and six other families as well," said Mr Skinner, 24.
"No amount of time will heal the pain he caused to so many and no punishment will ever be enough. But we should at least be given the peace of mind that he will never get the chance to do it again, or finish what he started."
Knight, who was declared a vexatious litigant after a series of court applications, last month argued in the Supreme Court for access to his prison file to help him with his parole application. Mr Skinner said he was sickened.
"It makes your blood boil, it really does," he said.
"But I don't seek sympathy, only justice. Parole should not even be considered. It is bad enough knowing that the taxes we pay are keeping him alive, getting him degrees and wasting the courts' time with petty requests and applying for privileges he does not deserve."
Mr Skinner, who now lives in country Victoria with his fiancee Emma, said he had hoped to never have to speak publicly about the day that "totally destroyed" his family.
"But if it's coming down to him being on parole, everybody should be reminded about how sick he is. He doesn't deserve the chance to come back out," he said.
Reports that Knight once "shed a tear" in court when the circumstances of his mother's murder were detailed, including that she was holding him at the time, were particularly disturbing. "It's pathetic," he said.
"He's shedding a tear because he's in jail, not because of what he's done.
He's never shown any remorse until recently. That's because his parole is coming up."
As he spoke out for the first time, an investigator who interviewed Julian Knight on the night of the infamous Hoddle St killings says the mass murderer had shown no signs of remorse.
Graham Kent said he was concerned about the possibility of Knight being paroled and said the decision should be made very carefully.
“I’ve seen no signs of genuine remorse for victims from Julian Knight, not at that early stage and nothing I’ve seen since,” Mr Kent said.
“The parole board needs to be very, very careful when considering Julian Knight’s potential release and needs to have the latest and best possible psychiatric evidence in relation to Knight before they consider release.”
Mr Kent said his first impressions of Knight from their first meeting in 1987 were still vivid.
“My first impression was he’s an immature young man who was very excited about the situation that he’s found in when I first met him in the interview room of the homicide offices. He was excited to be there and keen to tell his story.
“He was having his 15 minutes (of fame) which seems to have extended longer than it should have.”
Corrections Minister Bob Cameron backed the claims saying, he believed Knight had little hope of ever getting parole.
“Julian Knight has been sent to prison for life, Mr Cameron told Radio 3AW today.
“He’s a mass murderer. He’s eligible for parole in 2014.
“But let’s be blunt about Julian Knight. He has shown no remorse and his prospects for parole, you would have to say, are appalling.”
