Court hears of 50 violent acts

DPP seeks ‘dangerous criminal’ ruling

AN impending application to have him declared a dangerous criminal has not stopped a Risdon Prison inmate from committing violent offences, the Supreme Court has heard.

In Hobart yesterday, before Chief Justice Alan Blow, the state made an application for Nathan Michael Green, 31, to be declared a dangerous criminal. The declaration would mean he would be detained indefinitely until able to prove he is no longer a risk to the public.

There is no definition for a dangerous criminal, but the Tasmanian legislation is generally reserved for very serious crimes and repeat offenders of violent crimes.

Green has spent most of his adult life in prison and his incarceration has been marked by multiple assaults on prison staff and inmates. In Novem- ber 2015, Green was sentenced to two years’ prison for smashing a glass microwave plate over an inmate’s head.

While Justice Shan Tennent was explaining the sentence, Green interrupted, saying: “I don’t give a f.... I don’t care.”

He then laughed and said: “I don’t want parole.”

In 2014, he got 12 months’ jail for using a plastic cricket bat to attack a convicted murderer in an exercise yard. His release date is not until at least April 2020.

Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates told the court Green was awaiting sentencing for a charge of wounding and unlawfully destroying property, which had occurred in January when Green would have been aware of the dangerous criminal application.

Mr Coates said Green assaulted correctional officers in January and June this year and that he had about 50 violent of-