Aust, convict in death cell

Press, 27 May 1978, Page 9

Aust, convict in death cell

NZPA Perth A man in the death cell at : Fremantle jail may have to wait three weeks to know whether he will hang or be < reprieved. Terrence Ashley Kerr, aged 26, condemned to death for the murder of an elderly shopkeeper, has 21 days to lodge an appeal against his death sentence. The Western Australia] State Executive Council will u not make any decision on commutation until the ap- ; peal time has elapsed, a Crown Law Department spokesman said in Perth. The last person to hang in Western Australia was a multiple murderer, Eric Edgar Cooke, who was executed on a gallows inside Fremantle Prison on October 24, 1964. Since then, death sentences — mandatory for wilful murder convictions under the State’s Criminal code — have always been commuted to life imprisonment, but senior Perth lawyers said there was no certainty that commutation was automatic in everv case.

. The Fremantle Prison Superintendent (Mr J. Bunn) said Kerr was now being kept under 24-hour watch in the 2m by 3m condemned cell. His belt and shoelaces have been removed and his food is cut up for him so he can eat it with a spoon. He] is allowed only immediate family as visitors for about] an hour a day, and is allowed only one hour of] ■exercise. A spokesman for the Crown Law Department said Kerr’s fate was in the hands off the State Attorney-Gen- | eral (Mr Medcalf) who ! would decide whether to] recommend clemency to the ] Executive Council. Kerr was charged with murdering a shopkeeper, Mr] William George Congram, at; Kojonup on May 25, 1975 ] During the eight-day trial' evidence was given that thej murder victim had been alive before his shop-home was set alight by Kerr and his companions. His remains and those of his pet dog were found the next day in the burnt-out huildine.