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Canberra killers
on conditional
release orders
By RODERICK CAMPBELL,
Legal Reporter
Two Canberra killers, who
have spent many years in institu
tions for the criminally insane,
have been released back into the
community by order of the ACT
Mental Health Tribunal.
The tribunal has ordered the
conditional release of James Er
nest Taylor, 36, and Bernard
John Broadhurst, 51, on the basis
that neither was any longer in
sane nor a threat to the commu
nity. Both now reside in NSW.
Taylor was an 18-year-old sol
dier at Duntroon when he was
charged with the 1977 murder of
a visiting 11-year-old Melbourne
schoolgirl, Greta Penticoss. He
took the girl from a Canberra ho
tel room and, after a struggle, she
fell from a fifth floor balcony. He
then sexually assaulted the still
alive girl and strangled, punched
and stabbed her repeatedly.
Taylor later was diagnosed var
iously as schizophrenic and psy
chotic; suffering from temporal
lobe epilepsy; having a sociopath
ic personality disorder; or suffer
ing from anti-social personality
traits exacerbated by excessive al
cohol and drug use and his Army
environment.
Broadhurst strangled a 77-year
old Braddon woman, Marie Eliza
beth Peisley, in 1983 after being
told to by a "buzzing" in his head
and while being "under remote
control".
Various experts thought Broad
hurst was suffering from alcohol
ic dementia or alcoholic organic
brain damage or alcoholic hallu
cinosis.
Both ultimately were found not
guilty of murder on the grounds
of insanity and committed to an
institution for the criminally in
sane for an indeterminate period.
Taylor spent 16 years confined
in an institution and two in a
psychiatric hospital before his re
lease this month. Broadhurst was
detained for more than 12 years.
For more than a year before their
release, both men were regularly
and successfully released on un
supervised leave.
The decision to order their re
lease was made by a three-mem
ber tribunal comprising its pre
sident, ACT Chief Magistrate,
Ron Cahill, a psychiatrist, Dr
Robert Tym and community re
presentative Mariana Matthews.
In both cases, the tribunal in
vited the ACT Government and
the victims' families to put their
views. The ACT Government de
clined to become actively in
volved, although Attorney-Gen
eral Gary Humphries urged
caution and said the men should
be released only if the tribunal
was convinced there was no fur
ther threat to the community.
The family of Greta Penticoss
did not wish to express any opin
ion. Mrs Peisley's family wanted
to be sure Broadhurst would not,
and could not, return to his old
drinking habits.
Both men were released on
stringent conditions. These in
cluded supervision by a social
worker and the NSW parole ser
vice, regular psychiatric consulta
tions, total abstinence from alco
hol and non-prescribed drugs,
and residence in specified accom
modation (in Taylor's case, in
Sydney; in Broadhurst's, in the
Newcastle area). Taylor also was
directed to continue attending an
ger management and related pro
grams, and Broadhurst to under
go regular urine tests for alcohol.
The tribunal noted that Taylor
had been the subject of a large
number of psychiatric examina
tions since 1977. It received 34 of
these during its hearings. Taylor
was recommended for release by
the NSW Mental Health Tribunal
in March, 1994.
The ACT tribunal concluded he
was no longer mentally dysfunc
tional and that there had not
been any symptoms of epilepsy or
schizophrenia, nor behaviour con
sistent with a sociopathic person
ality disorder, for many years.
These various diagnoses were
made shortly after the 1977 mur
der, although each has been seri
ously questioned by other ex
perts.
Describing Taylor's crime as
heinous, the tribunal nonetheless
noted that had he been found
guilty of murder and imprisoned,
he would have been released be
fore now. It said the same about
Broadhurst's likely release. .
"The community's interest, in
terms of public safety, is required
to be balanced with the personal
circumstances, safety and inter
ests of the applicant [Taylor],"
the tribunal said.
"It is impossible to categorical
ly conclude that a person will
never re-offend. However, the evi
dence before the tribunal sup
ports the conclusion that a condi
tional release..., with appropriate
safeguards so as to assist and
control an effective and safe inte
gration of Mr Taylor back into
the community, will not place ei
ther the applicant or the commu
nity at risk."
The tribunal made similar ob-.
servations about Broadhurst. It
noted that the NSW tribunal had
recommended his release on six
occasions since 1992, but they had
been rejected by the ACT Govern
ment.
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