Daniel Morcombe killer the subject of vigilante justice in prison for ‘snitches’
IT’S “kill him or be killed” says an ex-prisoner, who warns that Daniel Morcombe’s murderer won’t survive in prison.
THE man sentenced to life in prison for killing 13-year-old Queensland boy Daniel Morcombe won’t survive prison, according to an ex-prisoner at the Wolston Correction Centre.
Brett Peter Cowan had been moved from a protective cell to the general prison population when he was attacked and injured when a pot of boiling water was allegedly thrown over him by inmate Paul Davidson, the Courier-Mail reports.
Cowan was reportedly left disfigured by the attack.
“It’s kill him or be killed in there — that’s how it works,” the ex-prisoner said.
“There’s no way he gets out of there alive — every time another bloke gets a chance, they have a crack at him. I hope the public knows that he’s not getting an easy ride in there — it is a living hell for him.”
Although his alleged attacker was also hospitalised with injuries after the incident, the ex-prisoner said inmates would celebrate the attack against Cowan.
“Every bloke in there is chomping at the bit to have their own go at him,” he said.
“As soon as he was moved out of protection it was on for all money.
“Whoever it is that knocks him off will be treated like a national hero in there.”
A spokesman for Queensland Corrective Services would not comment on the incident, but said each prisoner’s safety was a priority.
Back in August, and following the attack on Cowan in what prisoners describe as a ‘hot shower’, his lawyer said it was not for prisoners to punish Cowan any further.
Tim Meehan from Bosscher Lawyers said Cowan said vigilante justice was an ongoing problem in the prison.
“There’s an awful lot of ill feeling towards him but vigilante justice is something that has never been condoned by the courts,” Mr Meehan said.
“He is in jail as punishment for his crime and it’s not for others who are in jail ... to serve out summary justice.
“It’s disappointing that the general manager saw fit to move him from his protective cell, given the fact that there have been wideranging calls to take swift and severe action against Brett by all sorts of people. You have to question whether they have failed in their duty of care to him.”
Wolston Correctional Centre, where Cowan is serving his sentence, is known as a prison for paedophiles and “snitches”.
A prison source said the attack had happened in a common area in a section for high-protection and mentally impaired prisoners.
The attacker smuggled razor blades into the detention unit where he was taken after the attack and is believed to have used the blades to slice his wrists and testicles.
The third prisoner under investigation is due for release next week.
“He set this other guy up to do it,” the source said. “He used a prisoner with mental health issues to do it.”
Corrective Services and police conducted an investigation following the incident.