'Psychopathic' killer wins fight to get back into the community early

Daily Mail​

31-05-2025

A convicted killer, who has been described as a 'psychopath' and 'pyromaniac', has won a legal appeal to apply for parole earlier than planned.
Queenslander Rodney George Anderson, who is now in his 70s, was convicted of murder twice between 1995 and 2000.
A Restricted Prisoner Declaration, issued on June 5, 2023, by former parole board president Michael Byrne KC meant he could not apply for parole for eight years and six months.
The legal order, which prevents a prisoner from making a regular parole application, meant Anderson could not submit a request until December 6, 2031.
But on Friday, Anderson's appeal against the order on the grounds of his 'human rights' and 'right to dignity' was successful in Brisbane's Supreme Court.
Anderson murdered Ethel Adamson, 77, in her home in Brisbane 's southern suburb of Moorooka in June 1995.
He then attempted to set the house on fire, according to court documents from 1998.
'(Ms Adamson) had been viciously assaulted but the medical evidence suggested that death was probably not immediate,' the documents read.
Anderson was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in October 1997.
Three years later, he was sentenced for murdering another prisoner by using a television cord to strangle them because they were 'irritating' those around him, the court heard on Friday.
The Supreme Court heard Judge Byrne considered both murders, which he said 'demonstrated gratuitous violence', when issuing his restriction declaration.
A factor he also cited was psychiatric evidence which demonstrated Anderson had a 'psychopathic personality with poor impulse control', the court heard.
The evidence also found he had 'high levels of aggression'.
'The prisoner had demonstrated a lack of any true guilt or remorse for his behaviour which was in line with his psychopathic personality,' Judge Byrne said.
The court heard that, in 2023, no one challenged the conclusion Anderson was a 'psychopath and a pyromaniac who continues to pose a moderately high risk of violent recidivism'.
In considering Anderson's appeal on Friday, Justice Rebecca Treston said the killer was not arguing Judge Byrne's declaration but the order's length of time.
Anderson's legal team based their argument on the decline of the prisoner's health.
'The applicant places particular emphasis on the fact that his medical needs are likely to significantly deteriorate in the future,' the court heard.
'And even if his needs cannot be properly met in the corrective services environment, he will not be able to apply for parole until December 6, 2031.'
Anderson suffers from a range of chronic conditions, including a benign tumour at the base of his brain, type-2 diabetes, epilepsy and chronic kidney disease.
The court heard that, in 2023, a senior medical officer of the Wolston Medical Centre recommended Anderson would need medical support outside of the prison system.
'The patient's needs are likely to become more difficult to meet in the corrective environment and his care may be more appropriately managed in a supported community or nursing home setting,' they said.
Justice Treston told the court she thought the length of the prohibitive order had been made 'without explanation' and ruled in favour of Anderson's appeal.
'I find that the period imposed under the Restricted Prisoner Declaration of 23 June 2023 is invalid and should be set aside,' she said.
She will hear from both parties at a later date regarding the suitable length of time for the order.