Carl Williams’ killer Matthew ‘The General’ Johnson drops shock appeal bid as new jail pic emerges

Matthew Johnson has dropped his appeal to overturn his conviction for killing gangland boss Carl Williams, as a new photo emerges of the jail gang leader inside Barwon Prison.

A new picture of Matthew Johnson, who remains in Barwon Prison’s most secure unit serving a life sentence for the bashing murder of Carl Williams.

Supermax prisoner Matthew “The General” Johnson has dropped his appeal to overturn his conviction for killing gangland boss Carl Williams.

It comes as a new picture has emerged of Johnson inside maximum security Barwon Prison.

The Herald Sun revealed last year Johnson had launched a shock appeal bid in the Supreme Court based on the findings of the Lawyer X royal commission.

The grounds, however, were unclear.

The prison gang leader remains in isolation within Barwon Prison’s most secure unit serving a life sentence for the bashing murder of Williams, which occurred inside the jail’s Acacia Unit on April 19, 2010.

It is understood Johnson discontinued the appeal last month (July).

A source close to Johnson said he had had a “gutful” trying to obtain relevant documents from Victoria Police and that he was “not prepared to lie and say others were involved” in the Willlams murder to take his appeal further.

“I did it for the reasons I did,” he told the source.

Johnson was caught by CCTV cameras striking Williams eight times with the stem of an exercise bike seat.

Gangland boss Carl Williams was killed inside the jail’s Acacia Unit on April 19, 2010.

Johnson was convicted of Williams’ murder after a Supreme Court trial in 2011 despite his claim that he was acting in self-defence because Williams had made threats against him.

At the time of his death Williams was co-operating with police over unsolved gangland hits and was preparing to give evidence in a major trial.

The brutal attack was in the presence of another inmate in the Acacia unit, “Little” Tommy Ivanovic,

The Herald Sun has also been told that Johnson and Ivanovic “are as tight as they have ever been”.

There has long been speculation Johnson was behind a jail yard stabbing attack on Ivanovic in 2017, a rumour Johnson denies.

It is also understood Johnson did not have any meetings with former barrister Nicola Gobbo - aka Lawyer X - who was recruited by police as a registered informer.

Nicola Gobbo pictured with Gangland boss Carl Williams.

Johnson, who is the head of jail gang Prisoners of War, has been in isolation since the murder of Williams and is in lockdown 23 hours a day.

Meanwhile, two of Johnson’s former dangerous followers are eyeing freedom.

Sam Liszczak and Rodney Phillips have passed their non-parole periods over shooting a police officer in the aftermath of bungled attacks on members of Williams’ family.

The maximum sentences of both will expire in the next 12 months.

Police suspect Liszczak, 28, and Phillips, 30, were ordered to attack the homes of Williams’ widow Roberta and father George.

The pair had only been out of jail a matter of days in July, 2015, when they fired shots at George Williams’ fence and threw molotov cocktails in an after-dark attack.

They fire-bombed an Essendon house they mistakenly thought belonged to Roberta Williams on the same night.

They later opened fire on two police, First Constable Ben Ashmole and Senior Constable Tom Wospil, who had come across them in a stolen four-wheel-drive at Moonee Ponds.

First Const. Ben Ashmole was lucky to survive when hit from about 4.5 metres.

Liszczak and Phillips were initially charged with murder but later pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury and reckless conduct endangering serious injury.

There was anger from the family of First Const. Ashmole and the Police Association over the sentences handed down.