A ROCKHAMPTON prisoner, on an indefinite jail term for stabbing a stranger with a penknife 13 times in a Brisbane park, has now been sentenced to 13 years jail for attacking a fellow inmate.
Sean Stephen Hatten, 29, told prison staff he was having “a dip” – his word for a bad day – in April last year when he fashioned a knife by breaking up a disposable razor and wrapping parts of his sheet around it to create a handle.
He approached a new prisoner, who had been at the Capricornia Correctional Centre for just 10 days, from behind while the man was waiting in line for hot water to make a morning beverage.
Hatten punched him three times and then slit his throat, causing a 12cm cut which needed stitches.
Hatten pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday May1 to committing a malicious act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by wounding.
Crown prosecutor David Finch asked the court to consider 15 years jail, noting Hatten’s violent criminal history including raping a schoolgirl and the attempted murder of a 44-year-old woman. He said Hatten’s indefinite sentence for stabbing the woman in a park was up for its first review in July this year
Mr Finch described the incident as “a cold, calculated and pre-meditated attack upon a fellow prisoner”. which had no real motivation.
“It was entirely unprovoked. Mr Hatten armed himself with a razor blade which had been adopted and modified for the purpose of slashing (the prisoner’s) throat,” he said.
Defence barrister Julian Noud said his client, who suffered a range of psychological and psychiatric conditions, was now in maximum security at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre.
He said Hatten, who was the youngest Queenslander to receive an indefinite sentence, had contact with one other prisoner twice a week for two hours.
Mr Noud asked the court to consider Hatten’s violent upbringing, his significant personality disorder and his borderline intellectual function.
Judge Kiernan Dorney said Hatten had shown no remorse for his actions, which the victim said had exacerbated an existing paranoid schizophrenia condition.
He declared Hatten a serious violent offender meaning he must serve at least 80% of the 13 years.
