Convicted murderer and serial rapist Adrian Bayley will appeal a decision to refuse him funding in the Victorian Supreme Court.
Adrian Bayley will appeal a decision by Victoria Legal Aid refusing to fund an appeal to reduce his 43-year minimum jail term.
Bayley, who is serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 35 years for the rape and murder of Jill Meagher and was found guilty of three more violent rapes in May, is appealing against two of the convictions but Legal Aid has refused to fund them, according to ABC reports.
Legal Aid supported Bayley’s previous appeal against his murder sentence, but has subsequently undertaken a review into funding of appeals for convicted criminals. Bayley will now challenge Legal Aid’s decision not to fund his appeal in the Victorian Supreme Court.
“How much more anguish must this man cause the family of Jill Meagher and Victorians who were horrified by his actions?” said John Pesutto, shadow attorney-general.
“I think Victorians would be outraged to learn about his attempts to get taxpayers to pay his legal bills.
“We think Victorian Legal Aid made the right call here. By him coming out and asking taxpayers to further foot his legal bill, I think, will outrage most Victorians.
“People will never forget the atrocities he committed in our community and the heartbreak that he caused.”
According to Pesutto, Legal Aid support should be a matter of priority.
“Victoria Legal Aid rightly has to match priorities to ensure that those most in need and most deserving get precious funds that are available to help them with legal assistance,” he said.
The murder of ABC journalist Jill Meagher when she walked home from a night out in Melbourne in 2012, was highly publicised.
