Judge awards woman's insane killer $300,000

[Ed Toner]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...261156746.html
Judge awards woman's insane killer $300,000
By Leonie Lamont and Miguel Holland
August 20, 2003

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"I can't understand the law" . . . Christine Laws with husband Peter; and, above, Kelley-Anne. Photo: Peter Stoop

Within hours of being released from a psychiatric hospital, Kevin Presland stabbed his prospective sister-in-law to death, nearly decapitating her in his frenzy.

Yesterday, he was set to receive $300,000 in damages, after the Supreme Court found Hunter Area Health Service and a psychiatric registrar had breached their duty of care by failing to detain him in Newcastle's James Fletcher psychiatric hospital.

If he had been detained, it would have averted the "appalling" death of 25-year-old Kelley-Anne Laws in 1995 and Mr Presland's subsequent trial and 2 years in jail and in a psychiatric unit at Long Bay.

Justice Michael Adams noted that while it was generally unacceptable for someone to recover damages where they had committed a crime, in this case "he was insane at the time of the killing and innocent of any crime". Mr Presland was acquitted of Miss Laws's murder in May 1996 on the grounds of mental illness, and was released from Long Bay psychiatric unit in December 1997.

Miss Laws's mother was devastated at yesterday's judgement.

"Don't give it to him," said Christine Laws. "Put it back into the mental health system to help people . . . It was his choice to take marijuana, his choice to drink - nobody else's. No one made him do it, yet the system sees fit to pay him. I can't understand the law."

The family has received the maximum $50,000 in victim compensation, which was shared throughout the family, including with Miss Laws's fiance, Alan Presland, who is Kevin Presland's brother.

It is understood Kevin Presland has moved to Queensland and is working as an electrician.

Justice Adams said the Mental Health Act was clear that people who needed to be detained for their own or others' safety should be detained.

Mr Presland admitted that in the days before Miss Laws's death he drank up to 10 schooners of beer and smoked six doses of marijuana daily, which the court heard precipitated his psychosis. Police took him to hospital after an altercation at a friend's house, where he had tried to strangle a child, and thought his friend was "in league with the devil".

Justice Adams criticised the hospital's records, saying that the police escort statement about Mr Presland's behaviour could not be found, indicating a communication breakdown at the hospital.

He said the psychiatric registrar, Dr Jacob Nazarian, "did not see any psychotic illness or a psychiatric disorder [when assessing Mr Presland] . . .

[NachtWolf]

Dr Jacob Nazarian

"Nazarian?"

Or Nazi-Aryan?

This reeks of a White Nationalist conspiracy.


--MARK

[Rayney]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd the Govt has just cut Mental Health Funding.

[NachtWolf]

See? Nazis, the lot of them.


--Mark