The stepdaughter of slain drug lord Carl Williams has filed a civil suit against the Victorian government for failing to ensure her father’s safety in prison after he agreed to be a police witness.
Lawyers for 30-year-old Breanane Stephens claim Victoria approved the transfer of a fellow inmate to Williams’ cell in a high-security unit at Barwon Prison despite knowing he hated informants and other inmates and staff attacked.
Mrs Stephens is one of two children Williams’ widow Roberta had with her previous partner. She is the stepsister of Dhakota Williams, the only child of Carl and Roberta.
Carl Williams, 39, was killed in prison in 2010 by inmate Matthew Johnson, who used a metal bar from an exercise bike to deliver several blows to the back of his head.
A judge later ruled that Williams was killed because he provided information to police about the 2004 murders of police informant Terance Hodson and his wife Christine in exchange for a reduced sentence.
In documents filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Ms Stephens claims Johnson belonged to the POW gang, which was known to dislike prisoners who gave information to police, the Herald Sun reports.
The documents allege that he had a history of previous attacks on fellow inmates and prison staff, and that he had used the same weapon he used to knock down Williams.
Email exchanges between Rod Wise and Penny Armytage – the then acting commissioner of Corrections Victoria and then secretary of the Department of Justice respectively – showed they supported the prisoner transfer, despite concerns about Williams’ safety.
Carl Williams’ daughter Dhakota Williams (right) and stepdaughter Breanane Williams arrive at the funeral of Carl’s father George Williams at Saint Therese’s Parish in Melbourne in 2016
Carl Williams (pictured in 20024) was serving multiple sentences in Barwon Prison for the murder of four underworld figures when he was murdered by a fellow inmate in 2010
In a 2009 email, Mr Wise said there was “little doubt that Johnson would be capable of harming Williams if he were to discover the nature of his cooperation with police.”
He said Johnson could attack Williams for “financial incentives” or to “enhance his reputation” and because any sentence for an assault would likely run “concurrently” with his current sentence.
They supported the transfer on the condition that Williams and Stephenson were closely monitored.
Two months after the transfer was approved, a prison officer reported to Corrections Victoria in March 2009 that “everyone knows [Williams] cooperates with the Victoria Police in return for a reduced sentence and other benefits’.
“These views … may raise concerns about the safety of Inmate Williams and could be the cause of an attempt to harm Inmate Williams or those around him,” the report reportedly stated.
The following year, in March 2010, Johnson allegedly downloaded a version of Williams’ police witness statement about two men charged with the murders of Terance and Christine Hodson.
Johnson claimed he killed Williams in self-defence, but this was refuted by CCTV and he is serving a life sentence.
Breanane Stephens (left with Dhakota Williams) sues the Victorian government for failing to protect her stepfather Carl Williams in prison
Williams’ (pictured) biological daughter Dhakota has already received a confidential six-figure payout for his death
Ms Stephens claims Corrections Victoria was negligent in their duty to take “reasonable steps for the safe custody and welfare” of Williams and that a proper risk assessment of Johnson was not carried out.
Dhakota Williams has already received a six-figure confidential payout over her father’s death.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety told the Herald Sun Williams that the death had been “thoroughly investigated by a range of independent and regulatory bodies, including the Ombudsman and the Office of Correctional Services Review.
“The recommendations from these investigations have been implemented… As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Lawyers for Ms Stephens said Corrections Victoria had failed to “ensure the proper management, security and good order of the prison” and that their client had suffered loss and psychological harm.