A serial criminal involved in a riot which caused $1.6 million damage to Canberra's jail was pressured into following a "prison code" among inmates or else be labelled a "snitch", a lawyer has said.
George George faced the start of sentencing in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday, after previously pleading guilty to joint commission arson and property damage.
The 33-year-old was involved in a riot in the Alexander Maconochie Centre in November 2020.
Agreed facts state that night a group of inmates resisted the evening lock-in and this escalated into a riot.
Cigarettes had not been provided to some prisoners, creating "a perception of unequal treatment" towards the inmates in that particular prison block, the facts say.
In addition, they had not been given dessert that night.
During the resulting riot, George used a long stick to damage two CCTV cameras and was involved in lighting or stoking five fires.
On one occasion he threw toilet paper into one of the fires and then continued to stoke the blaze.
Another time, he collected fabric items and threw them onto a flaming mattress.
The estimated total cost for repairs was more than $1.6 million, with the total outlay, including labour and other costs, estimated to come in at $3.3 million.
In court on Friday, defence barrister Dean Ager said George's "tragic start in life left him in and out of custody his entire life".
"It is a little sombre to say he has now offended in custody," Mr Ager told the court.
The barrister argued his client did not play a direct role in the majority of the fires, however, it was "difficult to unscramble the egg".
"[There is] no evidence in this case that it was planned, although we do know why it started," Mr Ager said.
"[George] would have been under extreme pressure owing to the prison code."
He said George had told a report author he "felt he had no other option but to join in" and would have been labelled a "snitch" if he refused.
Prosecutor Claire Daly argued George was "clearly a key player" and was actively involved in lighting and maintaining two of the fires.
Justice Louise Taylor is set to hand down her sentence at a later date.
