Bryant’s Anniversary Series, Part 2: Fifty Ways To Leave Your Jailer

 Jailhouse Rock, as danced by Michael Jackson’s mentor, Elvis

by Mary W Maxwell

The Martin Bryant case is a beauty. You couldn’t ask for a greater supply of dead giveaways as to the dishonesty of the case and the unfairness of the man’s conviction. And all of this in Australia yet. And the guy’s still in prison!

This article lists 50 giveaways as to Bryant’s innocence. Not that you’d need 50. His lengthy interview with police on July 4, 1996 is sufficient. On that occasion he gave perfectly consistent answers to questions about his whereabouts on April 28^th. This series celebrates his honesty at that interview.

Walk with me through five examples of each of the following ten things:

Astonishing coincidences; Lapses in court procedure; Forensic mistakes; Cruelties toward Martin Bryant; Involvement by covert agencies; Instances of backlash against challengers; Deviations from police protocol; Media’s blatant agenda; Signs of advance knowledge; Subjects on which silence reigns supreme

1. Five Astonishing Coincidences

— on that very day, hundreds of media people had a conference in Hobart.
— the ten senior managers of the Port Arthur Historic Site left at 11 am for a workshop in Swansea, 2 hours away.
— Tasmania’s premier, Ray Groom, stepped down from the job a few weeks before the massacre and took over several relevant portfolios, including Attorney-General
— the embalmers organized a large amount of embalming equipment in advance
— at the moment of the shooting the only two local cops were far away, having been called to a fake drug crime

2. Five Lapses of Legal Procedure

 — the inquest was aborted by the coroner (Ian Matterson) “because Bryant pleaded guilty.”
— no lawyer was present during Bryant’s three-hour police interview in hospital
— the guardian showed no solicitude toward the prisoner
— no witness was cross-examined
— the judge accepted a guilty plea without asking why Martin suddenly changed his plea after 5 months

3. Five Forensic Mistakes

— no one took fingerprints from the tray and drink can that were handled by the gunman
— no one tried to establish the alleged presence of firearms in Seascape cottage
— no one was asked why the keys to Seascape were left behind in Martin’s Volvo
— the ‘confessional’ video got conveniently lost for 20 years
— no one worried that Martin’s main gun was in the repair shop

4. Five Cruelties Toward Martin Bryant

— the police “burnt him out” of Seascape cottage
— he was kept in solitary for months
— he was not allowed to see his girlfriend or mother for the first several weeks\
— he had been child fodder in Dr Dax’s Tavistock program
— he was, by his lawyer’s admission (John Avery), coerced to plead guilty

5. Five Hints of Involvement by Covert Agencies

— the invisibility, all day long, of Tassie’s main anti-terror officer, Michael Dyson, suggests he was inside Seascape cottage
— the cry by Anthony Nightingale “No, not here” suggests he had been told of a different plan for the shooting spree
— unusual workmen’s compensation payment to a visitor (Lynne Beavis) suggests her real employer was The Firm
— presence for at least two hours that afternoon of a black van with Commonwealth plates, at PAHS, suggests federal agents
— a bravery award to Hans Overbeeke, who no one witnessed helping victims, suggests a concealment of his true role

6. Five Instances of Backlash against Challengers

— Terrance Hill, gun dealer, was harassed and put out of business for showing evidence of Bryant’s innocence
— Wendy Scurr was harassed and prevented from seeking her rights as to the PTSD she developed from the terror incident
— Cherri Bonney had police helicopters over her home when she collected signatures in support of Bryant in 2016
— Olga Scully was sued for hosting guest speakers re PAM
— I shall leave the fifth person unnamed, sort of like “the tomb of the unknown soldier.”  There have been a few deaths that may be chalked up to the Port Arthur affair. Time will tell.

7. Five Deviations from Police Protocol

— hundreds of tourists were left unprotected for 6 hours, despite hundreds of police being available
— witnesses were shown a photo-board of black-and-white mugshots, with Bryant shown in color and full length
— psychiatrist Ian Sales, MD, seems to have coordinated the search for guns at the home of Bryant
— the police negotiator did not ask relevant questions about the hostages
— police who had the gunman in their sights were denied permission to shoot even though hostage lives were in danger

8. Five Aspects of Media’s Blatant Agenda

— newspapers published Bryant’s picture while he was still only a suspect
— the press gave lurid, untrue details of Bryant’s life
— no newspaper or TV network hosted any of the people questioning the official story or even mentioned such persons as Andrew Macgregor or Stewart Beattie
— in 1997, ABC’s Broadcast Briefing incited people to murder the prisoner
— in 2016, ABC’s Waleed Aly said “We cannot debate this” (Fancy that; and he trained as a lawyer.)

9. Five Indications of Advance Knowledge

— Tasmania’s parliament passed a new Coroner’s Act in 1995, yet did not let it come into effect until the coast was clear
— New South Wales premier Barrie Unsworth said “There will be no uniform gun laws until we have a massacre in Tasmania”
— Anti-gun activist (Roland Browne) was present at the massacre scene before anyone notified him of the shootings
— Firemen were called to Seascape cottage at 7am on April 29, 1996, well before the fire started there
— In 1995, the contract for workers at Broad Arrow Café deleted Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a covered item

10. Five Subjects on Which Silence Reigns Supreme

— who was the naked lady outside Seascape, sighted by police?
— who was the gunman on a roof near Seascape cottage, sighted by police?
— who ordered the recall of two police boats that were sent down the Derwent River at 2pm?
— where was the body of Glen Pears found?
— how did it happen that psychiatrist Paul Mullen resided in Aramoana, NZ, at the time of the shootout there?

So there you have it – fifty ways for the prisoner to be sent home, with the apology of the century.

I said in a previous article that a committee of protectors for Martin Bryant was being formed. There has been a slight alteration of that plan.  Please stay tuned for more information and please contact me if you are a Tasmanian wanting to help, and are not one of the many guilty parties.

(Oh, wait a minute. Even if you are, it’s OK. We are an Equal Opportunity Committee and reconciliation reigns supreme.)

— Mary W Maxwell, PhD, LLB, is co-author with Dee McLachlan of the new book. Port Arthur: Enough Is Enough. It is a free download from GumshoeNews.com. Please send it to your friends.

You shoulda heard that knock-down jailbird sing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka6JrKUM5U