Latest news with #psychopath
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Psychopathic' killer who killed elderly woman, strangled fellow inmate has parole term set aside by court
A 'psychopathic' killer convicted for murdering an elderly woman and setting fire to her home, before strangling an inmate to death, has successfully appealed terms of an order preventing him from applying for parole. Rodney George Anderson was serving a life sentence for the 1995 murder of 77-year-old Ethel Adamson in her Moorooka – setting fire to her home in the process – when he murdered a fellow inmate five years later by strangling him with a TV aerial cord. He became eligible for parole in November 2020. But the Parole Board of Queensland (PBQ) in 2023 made a declaration naming him as a restricted prisoner – effectively barring Anderson from applying for parole for eight-and-a-half years. The order meant Anderson was prohibited from applying for parole until December 2031 – by which time he will be 78. In an appeal of the order to the Supreme Court, Anderson challenged the length of the term while citing his declining health conditions in custody. They include chronic kidney disease, type-2 diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, and poor mobility requiring the use of a wheelchair. 'None of his conditions are immediately life threatening, however, he is at risk of acute deterioration due to his underlying health issues,' Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Treston said in her judgment. 'His mobility is very poor and he is experiencing regular falls.' A letter from a medical officer stated Anderson's needs were being met in custody but this would change as his condition declined. The decision to make a restricted prisoner declaration was outlined in a letter from President of the PBQ, which detailed the serious nature of offences that landed Anderson a life-imprisonment conviction, the harm he may pose to the public if granted parole and the effect the release on parole may have on the Anderson or another victim. Anderson had a 'psychopathic' personality, 'poor impulse control and demonstrated high levels of aggression' and was at risk of 'engaging in fire-setting behaviours', according to a psychiatric report and a letter from the PQB president. 'I have been informed that the prisoner presents as requiring a high level of support if he were to be released, the kind which is most likely to be facilitated in a nursing home,' the president's letter stated. 'However, given his particular risk towards vulnerable persons, it is unlikely this plan would be feasible. 'Given the above and considering all information and material before me, I am satisfied that there is a risk the prisoner may pose to the public if he is granted parole, particularly as the prisoner is a psychopath and a pyromaniac who continues to pose a moderately high risk of violent recidivism despite his advancing age and noted health issues.' In her decision, Justice Treston found the term of the restricted prisoner declaration failed to adequately consider the human rights consequences for Anderson, particularly in light of his numerous serious and worsening medical conditions. Justice Treston declared that the period imposed under the Restricted Prisoner Declaration — the term of eight-and-a-half years — was invalid and must be set aside. The court found that the 'public interest' consideration for deciding the term of the declaration must be broader than just the risk factors, such as nature of the offence, risk to public and the effect on victims. The parties will discuss the specific court order needed to implement this decision.
Vogue
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Bring Her Back Is the Perfect Kick-Off to Horror-Movie Summer
A scene from Bring Her Back Photo: Ingvar Kenne And it has Sally Hawkins. I suppose after seeing unimpeachable talents like Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, and Florence Pugh topline horror movies, it should come as no surprise that Hawkins has done the same. But still there's something novel here: reimagining the brightly beaming star of the Paddington movies as a suburban psychopath is a world-class act of counterintuitive casting. Hawkins's Laura is a diminutive, hippy-dippy monster who takes the two siblings, Piper and Andy, in and promptly starts fucking with them. The younger sibling, Piper, who is mostly blind (she's played by the vision-impaired actress Sora Wong) and stridently independent (she refuses to use her mobility stick), is seduced by Laura's ministrations. Her brother, Andy (Billy Barratt, who is a tousle-haired revelation), is a different story. He's suspicious from the start, but also vulnerable and traumatized and not able to do more than keep a wary eye on Laura, a watchfulness that amplifies the movie's unease. There's also another boy in the house: Laura's young son, Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), who says not a word and stalks around, mostly shirtless, like an adolescent zombie. What is going on in Bring Her Back? I personally loved how coy and restrained the Philippous can be in their storytelling—mood is more important than careful explanations to these writer-directors—but the leaps in logic may annoy some people. Nevertheless, you viscerally understand that the occult rituals Laura furtively watches on hoarded videotapes are a prelude to something awful she herself is planning. And you figure out early that Ollie isn't actually Laura's son, or entirely human. His eyes aren't right, his belly is distending grotesquely, and he eats anything in sight, including, in one indelible scene, the blade of a kitchen knife.
