Julian Knight (born 4 March 1968) is an Australian mass murderer. On 9 August 1987, he shot seven people dead and injured 19 during a shooting spree in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia, in what became known as the Hoddle Street massacre.

Knight is serving seven concurrent sentences of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 27 years. The judge who sentenced him, Justice George Hampel, stated that there were "a number of significant mitigatory factors" and "the fixing of a minimum term in this case is appropriate because of your age and your prospects of rehabilitation." The Crown prosecutor, Joe Dickson QC, "did not contend that a minimum term should not be fixed." The shootings resulted in the deaths of seven people and serious injury to nineteen others. After a police chase lasting more than thirty minutes, Knight was apprehended in nearby Fitzroy North and arrested for the shootings.

During the trial, it was asserted that Knight had a personality disorder with hysterical features. and GTV Channel 9's Hoddle Street (2007).

Prison life

Knight used to be an inmate in the protection section of the maximum security Port Phillip Prison near Melbourne. He has initiated many legal challenges to the Victoria Government while imprisoned. Knight's challenges often concern events and occurrences arising during his imprisonment and his dissatisfaction with prison management and prison discipline. He has spent twelve years of his sentence in high-security management facilities. In 2025, he was moved from maximum to medium security due to prison closures.

Sentence

On the 20th anniversary of the Hoddle Street massacre, the judge who sentenced Knight, Professor George Hampel, stood by the sentence he gave him.

Shortly before Knight became eligible for parole in 2014, the Victorian Parliament passed the Corrections Amendment (Parole) Act 2014 (Vic), which amended the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) to prevent the parole board from ordering Knight's release "unless satisfied, amongst other things, that Mr Knight is in imminent danger of dying or is seriously incapacitated and that, as a result, he no longer has the physical ability to do harm to any person."

On 7 September 1992, Knight appeared before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking a review of a decision where he was refused AUSTUDY assistance with his university studies while imprisoned. On 22 October 2001, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria in his first Supreme Court case against the prison authorities, seeking an injunction ordering the return of documents prepared for the inquest into the death of a prisoner who had hanged himself in 2000. The documents were returned in court that day, and the application was dismissed.

On 4 July 2002, Knight appeared before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) with a complaint regarding an abuse of human rights where prison officers removed items "of a political nature" from his cell. The items removed were a collection of business cards, pamphlets, and sheets of paper. One sheet of the paper had a large picture of Adolf Hitler in uniform. A second had a picture of Hitler with Nazi insignia and skull and cross-bones, and others only the insignia. The cards featured slogans such as "Stop the Asian invasion", "We just hate all queers", "White power", and "Dial-a-racist" with contact details.

Along with the posters and paperwork, a large number of contraband items were found in Knight's cell, such as blades, sharpened knives, white supremacist literature, war literature, medication bottles, a leather belt, two television remote controls, an extension lead, a can opener, bale hooks, permanent markers, computer disks many containing information relating to prison security and staff pornographic material, sandpaper, masking tape, prison manuals, staff pictures, T.A.B. betting information, and prison and staff rosters. Knight's application was dismissed, even though many of the seized items were returned to him.

On 21 August 2002, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking an injunction ordering that prison management and staff cease inspecting and withholding legal mail sent to or by the plaintiff. The application was dismissed. On 2 September 2002, Knight appeared before VCAT seeking access to various prison documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic). On 9 September, Knight appeared before the VCAT seeking "Full access to the daily staff rosters for HM Prison Barwon since the 1st May 2001" under the Freedom of Information Act. The application was affirmed. The application was dismissed. On 11 November 2003, Knight appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking an extension of time against a decision of VCAT. The application was dismissed with costs awarded against the applicant.

On 26 November 2013, Knight made a 94-page submission to the Defence Abuse Response Task Force (DART). In 2014, he initiated court proceedings in the ACT Supreme Court against the Commonwealth of Australia seeking damages for the bastardisation he allegedly suffered whilst at Duntroon.

Vexatious litigant

In February 2003, it was estimated that the many legal challenges by Knight had cost the Victorian Government over A$250,000, and approximately $128,000 had been spent since October 2001 on external legal advice to deal with Knight's legal appeals and Freedom of Information requests.

On 19 October 2004, Knight was barred from launching any further legal action in Victoria's courts for ten years, with a judge declaring him a vexatious litigant. He was the 13th person to be declared a vexatious litigant in Victoria since 1930, and the first prisoner. Knight is still able to make requests under the Freedom of Information Act. On 19 June 2008, Knight made a submission to the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee's Inquiry into Vexatious Litigants.

In June 2009, Knight sued Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls to force him to appear before the Supreme Court and to remove his status as a "vexatious litigant". He also claims the status "is being used as an instrument of oppression by Corrections Victoria" and says his request for access to a personal computer in his cell was denied.

Requests for rehabilitation

On 26 June 2007, Knight told the Supreme Court of Victoria that he wanted access to rehabilitation programs in prison to improve his chance of parole. He also sought permission to write a letter of "apology and explanation" to one of his victims. The court heard prison authorities intercepted a letter Knight tried to send to one of his victims. He was charged with two prison offences and spent six days in solitary confinement. Knight told the court a letter of apology did not fit the prison guidelines for a prohibited letter, stating, "A letter of apology constitutes a facet of my rehabilitation and, on a small measure, of making amends for my actions," he told the court. Knight was given leave by the Court to proceed with his case.

See also

  • Martin Bryant
  • Port Arthur massacre
  • List of rampage killers

References

  • R v Knight ; [1989] VR 705
  • Re Julian Knight and Secretary to the Department of Employment, Education and Training
  • Knight v CORE
  • Knight v CORE
  • Knight v CORE
  • Knight v Minister for Corrections
  • Knight v State of Victoria
  • Mass killer Knight loses legal fight, The Age, 8 October 2003
  • Hoddle Street mass killer faces court curb , The Age, 10 November 2003
  • Even Julian Knight is entitled to basic human rights, The Age, 25 November 2003