Williams death 'defensive homicide'

23 Jul 2010, 4:58 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The inmate accused of bashing to death Carl Williams in jail will claim he attacked the underworld killer to protect himself.

The inmate accused of bashing to death Carl Williams in jail will claim he attacked the underworld killer to protect himself.

Williams' ex-wife Roberta and his father George are expected to be witnesses at the inmate's committal hearing later this year where the accused killer will argue "defensive homicide".

The man, 36, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared in Geelong Magistrate's Court via videolink from prison on Friday.

"It is apparent from the brief, your honour, that the defence open to the defence is that of defensive homicide," his lawyer Christopher Traill told the court.

The court heard members of the Williams family, 11 prison officers and other prisoners, including inmate Tommy Ivanovic, will be among the 32 witnesses called at the pre-trial committal hearing.

Roberta and George are the only surviving adult members of Williams' immediate family.

More than 50 other witnesses have given statements but will not be called at the committal.

Williams, 39, suffered serious head injuries when he was bashed with a metal bar in Barwon Prison's maximum-security Acacia Unit in April.

He suffered a heart attack and could not be revived.

The crime of defensive homicide was introduced in Victoria in 2005 when the defence of provocation was scrapped.

In a 2005 media release, Attorney-General Rob Hull said defensive homicide would apply when a person believed it was necessary to kill to protect themselves (or another) but that belief was ultimately not reasonable.

It carries a 20-year maximum jail term, the same as manslaughter.

In 2008, a prisoner who killed an inmate at a Melbourne remand centre and could not remember stabbing his victim 16 times, pleaded guilty to defensive homicide and was jailed for eight years with a minimum of six.

Magistrate Ron Saines set the matter down for a 10-day committal hearing on November 29.

He ordered the man to appear in court on October 22 for a further mention.

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