Jail term for prison attack

A man has been sentenced to 14 months jail after attacking an inmate while in custody at Greenough Regional Prison in 2013.

Matthew William Henry Stimpson pleaded guilty in the District Court at Geraldton this week to a single charge of grievous bodily harm.

In court, the prosecution said Stimpson had become angry when one of his visits was cancelled, and attacked another man whose crimes he had read about in the newspaper.

While in the rec room, Stimpson pushed the victim over in what the prosecutor called “completely unprovoked violence” and his head fell against a wooden railing, resulting in a jaw fracture that required surgery at Royal Perth Hospital.

Judge Michael Bowden said the charge was aggravated by it taking place in custody.

“There’s a need to maintain order and discipline in the remand system,” he said.

“Fellow prisoners are entitled to be protected from this kind of violence.”

Stimpson will be eligible for parole after he has served half his sentence.