'He's getting what he wants': Morcombe's react to killer Cowan's move
Bruce and Denise Morcombe have reacted to news their son's killer will be given the chance to leave isolation and mix with other prisoners.
The Morcombes only found out about the change when they were contacted by 7 News yesterday.
“I never think about Cowan. I don’t care what he does, what he eats, what he looks like, as long as he’s locked up and kept out of society I’m happy,” Denise said.
“If he's got two hours a day in another section, that means really two hours of freedom a day so he's getting what he wants, " Denise lamented.
“We have lots of positive things to fill our day protecting kids, so long as he's locked up kids are safe, that's all we want," Bruce said.
"You know the jail authorities part of their responsibility is to make sure he's safe and good luck with that," he said.
The news that Daniel Morcombe's killer was on the move, was broken yesterday in a Seven News exclusive.
After nearly two years in isolation at a Brisbane protection jail, prison authorities have slowly started to integrate Brett Peter Cowan with fellow inmates over the past week.
When Cowan was found guilty of Daniel’s murder in March 2014, he was placed in the detention unit at the Wolston Correctional Centre for his own safety.
Authorities deemed the high profile 46-year-old at serious risk of being targeted by other prisoners wanting to maim or kill the man who murdered Daniel Morcombe.
He was placed on a safety order for full segregation.
Prison sources have told Seven News Cowan has been moved out of the detention unit at the and taken to Unit S8 where authorities believe the killer would be at least risk of being attacked.
Unit S8 houses up to 60 inmates, many with psychological problems, and it is where Gerard Baden Clay spent his first night after being found guilty of killing his wife Alison in 2014.
Prison staff told Seven News the decision to integrate Cowan was made by his management team which include psychologists.
Cowan can go to the unit daily for up two hours, and is usually moved in the morning.
Prison staff said he can also decline to go.
“He’s still at huge risk and is a hated man. All movement in the jail has to be suspended while they bring him from the detention unit to S8. He has had a couple of visits to the unit but knocked a visit back on one occasion because he felt unsafe. He hasn’t been threatened to our knowledge while in S8,’’ a prison source said.
“Cowan is on a Safety Order for full segregation while in the detention unit and is pretty much a well behaved prisoner. It is policy to review every month. He is quiet, polite, has not had any breaches but has put on a lot of weight since he came here,” a prison source said.
Prison sources said the recent decision to slowly integrate Cowan could have been prompted by a complaint from him or is part of his sentence management.
“Either way, anything to do with his time here is always discussed between him and his case management team,’’ a prison source told Seven News.
News break – February 4
