This is a long book so I've been reading it alongside others for a while now.
From the Blurb:
This non-fiction book explores the true story of H Division, the punishment division within Pentridge Prison, Melbourne, that operated from 1958-1994, which was responsible for cultivating criminals who committed horrific crimes upon their release.
Established in 1958 to punish prisoners like William O’Meally, the last man legally flogged in Australia, H Division, or Hell Division as it became known, established a culture so ferocious, in 1972 the Victorian Government was forced to hold an inquiry into the brutality.
I served four months in H Division in 1973 and prior to my release in 1975 I asked numerous H Division inmates to write their stories for me. They included Chris Flannery, aka Rent-a-Kill, Stan Taylor, responsible for bombing Russell Street Police Headquarters, Archie Butterly, infamous for blowing his way out of the Melbourne Remand Centre and Julian Knight (written recently), responsible for the Hoddle Street massacre.
The book includes their autobiographical stories and a detailed analysis of the inquiry including quotes from original transcripts of evidence presented to the inquiry, giving insight from both sides into a punishment prison that was once the most brutal in Australia.
This non-fiction book explores the true story of H Division, the punishment division within Pentridge Prison, Melbourne, that operated from 1958-1994, which was responsible for cultivating criminals who committed horrific crimes upon their release.
Established in 1958 to punish prisoners like William O’Meally, the last man legally flogged in Australia, H Division, or Hell Division as it became known, established a culture so ferocious, in 1972 the Victorian Government was forced to hold an inquiry into the brutality.
I served four months in H Division in 1973 and prior to my release in 1975 I asked numerous H Division inmates to write their stories for me. They included Chris Flannery, aka Rent-a-Kill, Stan Taylor, responsible for bombing Russell Street Police Headquarters, Archie Butterly, infamous for blowing his way out of the Melbourne Remand Centre and Julian Knight (written recently), responsible for the Hoddle Street massacre.
The book includes their autobiographical stories and a detailed analysis of the inquiry including quotes from original transcripts of evidence presented to the inquiry, giving insight from both sides into a punishment prison that was once the most brutal in Australia.