MURDERER DOING TIME LOOKING FOR ROMANCE ON FACEBOOK

67 prior convictions and he got only nine years for shooting some bloke dead? What kind of shit is that? There's something drastically wrong with the Australian justice system.

Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this story.

BROWN PRISON INMATES SET-UP FACEBOOK PAGE TO FIND PENPALS
A LOVESICK killer locked away inside one of Victoria's toughest prisons is looking for romance online

By Wayne Flower

Herald Sun
January 23, 2012

Dressed in his baggy black prison-issued shorts and a white T-shirt, Marcus Phillips, also known as Smiley, grins from ear-to-ear with delusions of love.

A Facebook profile of the killer, who shot dead 47-year old Michael Horn in 2005 after a dispute, describes Phillips as a happy, easygoing bloke who enjoys a chat.

It proudly lists the 41-year-old as doing nine years at Barwon Prison for manslaughter, showcasing his great sense of humour, love of rock 'n' roll and need of female company.

The site, titled Guys At Barwon Prison That Want Girls To Write To Them, has been active for just over a year and provides the prison's postal address.

Barwon houses criminals such as the "Mornington Monster" John Sharpe, child killer Arthur Freeman and rapist John Xydias.

Phillips received six years' jail with a non-parole period of four years when found guilty of manslaughter.

The sentence was increased on appeal to nine years with a minimum of seven, making him eligible for parole at the end of this year.

The court heard Phillips had a long criminal history comprising 67 convictions, including a year's jail for reckless conduct endangering life and assaulting a police officer.

The Police Association's Inspector Bruce McKenzie said the page was offensive.

"Surely he has wreaked enough havoc on society and that Facebook site should be taken down," he said, calling on Corrections to investigate how the photographs from inside jail appeared online.

"Clearly a privilege here has been abused and hopefully the prison authorities deal with him in a fairly severe way."

A Corrections Victoria spokesman said the website should be taken down.

"This site and post seem to have been created by someone outside the prison," he said.

"We would ask they remove it out of respect for victims."