Postcard Bandit Seeks Freedom in WA Supreme Court

Brenden James Abbott, known as the "Postcard Bandit," is seeking freedom in a WA court. Abbott escaped from Fremantle Prison in 1989 and is serving a 14-year sentence for bank robbery, a prison riot, and escape. He claims his WA custodial sentence lapsed while in custody in Queensland and is challenging sentencing laws introduced in 1996. Abbott's son James argues that his father has served enough time and deserves to spend time with his family.

The notorious bank robber and fugitive, Brenden James Abbott, known as the "Postcard Bandit," is once again seeking freedom in a West Australian court. Abbott, who escaped from Fremantle Prison in 1989, is currently serving a 14-year sentence for bank robbery, a prison riot, and the 1989 escape [1]. He is making a legal bid to have his incarceration declared unlawful and is suing the West Australian government for wrongful imprisonment in the state's Supreme Court.

Abbott, now 63, claims that sentencing laws introduced in November 1996 do not apply to him and that his WA custodial sentence lapsed while he was in custody in Queensland [1]. He is also challenging the constitutional validity of these laws, which require an inmate returned to prison after an escape to serve an additional imprisonment equal to one third of the time they were at large, on top of the time they had yet to serve when escaping [1].

Abbott's son James has expressed his support for his father's bid for freedom. "If you do the crime, you do the time," he said outside court on Tuesday. "But the amount of time that dad has done for what he's done is more than enough. He's paid his debt to society and he deserves to spend time with his family" [2].

Abbott is currently a maximum security inmate at Perth's Casuarina Prison. He was extradited to Perth in May 2016 after serving 18 years in Brisbane prisons following his recapture in Darwin in May 1998 [2]. He had escaped from Sir David Longland Prison in Brisbane in November 1997, when he was serving a sentence for bank robberies on the Gold Coast [2]. Abbott is technically eligible for parole in WA in October 2026 but faces a genuine prospect of never being granted parole and only being released once his maximum term expires in January 2033 [2].

The hearing continues, and the outcome of Abbott's legal challenge remains uncertain. However, his case highlights the complex interplay between sentencing laws and the rights of prisoners in Australia.

References:
[1] https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/postcard-bandit-prison-escapee-asks-wa-court-for-freedom-20250702-p5mbwz.html
[2] https://au.news.yahoo.com/captured-prison-escapee-asks-court-064000971.html