One of two men found guilty of viciously bashing a fellow jail inmate deserves a significant jail term despite the risk of being institutionalised because he is "perhaps one of the worst candidates for a community-based order," a prosecutor has said.
In November, Cedric Roberts, 24, and Brendon Walters, 27, were found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a fellow inmate at the Alexander Maconochie Centre in December 2018.
The prosecution's case was that upon entering the cell, both offenders kicked the victim numerous times to his head and body.
They then ripped the victim off his bed and then tried to jump on his arm.
The victim sustained numerous injuries from blunt force trauma, including loss of consciousness, post-concussion syndrome and a mild traumatic brain injury that needed induction in a coma with intubation for 17 hours.
In his impact statement, which prosecutor James Melloy read to the court on Monday, the victim described the offenders as weak and that the incident "just always continues playing on my mind".
"I spent time with them, I thought we were mates, he said.
"I thought it was a cowardly act to sneak in while someone was asleep."
The victim said he now has memory loss, including not remembering the face of his father, who was buried while he was in jail.
"I can't remember my childhood, it's like I've just lost those memories," he said.
"I saw footage of me being dragged down the bedroom, choking on my blood and being taken to a hospital and revived."
Roberts and Walters also face additional charges, to which they pleaded guilty, arising from other incidents.
For the former, all of those charges related to incidents at the Canberra jail, including him using a fry pan to assault correctional staff.
The court heard that both men are already serving jail terms, set to end on February 28 this year for Walters and May 7 in 2024 for Roberts.
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Mr Melloy said that if jail terms were to be imposed for offences committed in custody, relevant provisions in the sentencing legislation states that non-parole periods cannot be set and that those terms should be consecutive to the existing jail terms.
He said the offenders needed to prove special circumstances for a judicial officer to make concurrent jail terms for such offences.
"There is some scope for some sentences for concurrency, but the prosecution would equally submit that this is a man who has committed repeated, serious violent offences while in custody" Mr Melloy said.
"He's perhaps one of the worst candidates for a community-based order at this time and from the [criminal] history at any time.
"This offending warrants a significant term of full-time imprisonment."
Mr Melloy said it was open to the court to impose community-based orders for Walters.
Darryl Perkins, one of Roberts' lawyers, asked for a community-based sentence "for some or all of the matters".
Special magistrate Jane Campbell responded by asking Mr Perkins how she could do that.
"When reflecting on the other matters in the prior history, he's certainly been in worse trouble," Mr Perkins said.
Mr Perkins said his client has been incarcerated since his mid-teen and had spent only 60 days outside since.
"He needs to be with his family, who are committed to his welfare," Mr Perkins said.
"He certainly needs some drug and alcohol guidance. He needs regular treatment in terms of mental health issues."
Ms Campbell described Roberts' time in jail as "one of the most serious I've ever seen".
Jason Moffett, another lawyer for Roberts, urged Ms Campbell to "metaphorically move back from the sentencing exercise and look at it objectively...and impose a sentence which is fit for crime but measured with respect to this young indigenous man's subjective circumstances".
"It's an exceptionally sad case. It's a case with which if Mr Roberts is not already institutionalised, then he runs the serious risk of being so," he said.
Andrew Byrnes, representing Walters, argued for leniency based on his client showing "a lot of promise", including positive feedback about his work in jail and completion of programs.
Mr Byrnes also said his client was at risk of being institutionalised.
The pair, who appeared via audio-visual link in court, will be sentenced in May.
During proceedings, Roberts interrupted a number of times to ask if he could leave, saying on one occasion he did not want to hear people "talking s--t about me".
