Derryn Hinch came to court with an apology on his lips and his pyjamas in an overnight bag.
The first turned out to be of questionable value and the second of none at all.
The crusading broadcaster whose battles with the legal system have ended with six straight defeats is facing sentencing after being found guilty of contempt of court.
Taking the stand for the first time in the case to testify in relation to a penalty, Hinch made an "unreserved" apology for breaching a suppression order in the case of Adrian Bayley who last year raped and killed Melbourne woman Jill Meagher.
Hinch breached the order by revealing on his internet blog that Bayley's parents had warned police before Ms Meagher's murder they feared their son would attack a woman.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
He also wrote that police had twice called for Bayley's parole to be revoked before he attacked Ms Meagher.
"I am genuinely sorry," Hinch told the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday.
"I hope I never appear in this box again."
But in almost the next breath, he declared his innocence.
"I've done nothing wrong," he said.
The response prompted Justice Stephen Kaye, who last week found Hinch guilty for breaching the order of fellow Victorian Supreme Court judge Jeffrey Nettle, to question the quality of his remorse.
The judge asked whether Hinch was sorry for himself or whether he was genuinely remorseful for having "offended the system of justice".
He pointed out that apology had come late in the proceedings and only after the finding of a guilty verdict which Hinch did not accept.
Prosecutor John Langmead SC also raised questions about Hinch's sincerity, asking him if the apology had been made only to gain a lighter penalty.
Hinch rejected any suggestion that he was less than sincere.
Mr Langmead pointed to Hinch's earlier claim made on the front steps of the Victorian Supreme Court that he was a scapegoat and a whipping boy for others who had been more contemptuous than him.
Mr Langmead nevertheless told the court the prosecution was not necessarily seeking a prison sentence for Hinch.
He said prison was one of the options before Justice Kaye, along with a fine in the "high tens of thousands" or a suspended sentence.
"(But) we don't particularly push for a custodial sentence," Mr Langmead said.
Hinch, who arrived at court with a bag packed in case he was sent to jail, will learn his fate later this month.
