Rockhampton prison riot sentence for John Frederick Murray

John Frederick Murray, 27, was one of 60 plus inmates charged over the infamous October 2021 Capricornia Correctional Centre riot.

John Frederick Murray, 27, is one of 60 plus inmates charged over the infamous October 2021 Capricornia Correctional Centre riot.He faced Rockhampton District Court for his role in the ordeal which made national headlines, lasted for 16 hours and caused $1.2 million worth of damage.

A cocky prisoner rode around Capricornia Correctional Centre on a lawnmower wearing a guard’s hat while sniffing petrol and flipping the bird when a photograph was taken of him, a court has heard.

John Frederick Murray, 27, was one of 60 plus inmates charged over the infamous October 2021 Capricornia Correctional Centre riot.

He faced Rockhampton District Court for his role in the ordeal which made national headlines, lasted for 16 hours and caused $1.2 million worth of damage.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said Murray’s role was at the higher end of offending compared to the 20 plus men already convicted for the riot, with his involvement starting at the beginning and continuing right to the end.

Extensive damage as a result of the 16-hour riots at Capricornia Correctional Centre.

Murray kept a door shut on prison guards, threw an officer’s bag, moved a fire extinguisher, armed himself with a pole then later with a pick axe which he used to damage a vending machines and windows, ran around shirtless and identifiable by his distinctive tattoos, made threats to beat prison guards, used a stolen megaphone repeatedly, inhaled petrol from a bottle, pulled down his pants and exposed his buttocks to prison officers, along with throwing items at guards, including rocks from the roof and a mattock.

Mr Sutton said most concerningly, Murray not only threatened prison guards, he also threatened their families.

Judge Jeff Clarke said when the prison’s landscaping shed was broken into, Murray and others took advantage of their access to volatile substances such as petrol and armed themselves with objects to use for weapons.

“(Murray was in a) picture taken by a handheld device within the jail sitting on a ride-on mower wearing a prison officer’s cap, holding some petrol and extending his middle finger to the person taking the photograph,” he said.

Later, at night, Murray started a fire in a rubbish bin while on the roof and threw it onto the ground, landing on a wooden table and engulfing it in flames.

Others then added objects to that fire.

Police vehicles at the perimeter of the Capricornia Correctional Centre late on Thursday night during the riots and protests.

Defence barrister Maree Willey said her client had a disadvantaged childhood and had a longstanding issue with alcohol and illicit substances.

She said he started using marijuana and drinking alcohol when he was 16 years old and was introduced to methamphetamines in his late teens.

Murray was serving a one year and three month prison term handed down in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on March 1, 2021, at the time of the riot.

He pleaded guilty to one count aggravated riot on December 4 for which Judge Clarke sentenced Murray to 18 months prison, cumulative of the March 2021 sentence.

Judge Clarke declared 14 days presentence custody as time served on the riot sentence and set parole eligibility on March 4, 2024.

Originally published as Rockhampton prison riot sentence for John Frederick Murray