What life will look like for Erin Patterson now

Triple murderer Erin Patterson, handed a 33-year minimum sentence on Monday, could spend the rest of her days crocheting in a solitary cell in a maximum security prison unit on Melbourne’s outskirts.

“No doubt they will keep her in the slot [solitary confinement] for a while,” a prison source who has spent years inside the system under various restriction regimes told this masthead.

“She definitely won’t get a job in the prison kitchen – that’s for sure.”

Despite Patterson’s stoicism in the courtroom, she would almost certainly have been placed under special observation on Monday after her return to the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s west, over concerns she could self-harm.

Justice Christopher Beale, the sentencing judge, was at pains to ensure it was clear Patterson’s isolation so far had been to keep her safe from other inmates, such is her notoriety, and not the other way around.

Prison and legal sources say it is common for offenders to spend days or even a week after receiving their sentence under near-constant surveillance for their own safety, including placing them in cells with CCTV cameras or conducting visual inspections every two hours.

Because of Patterson’s notoriety, it remains unclear whether she will ever be considered low-risk enough to be transferred to a standard prison cell or even a protection unit.

“As for your future conditions of imprisonment, whilst your placement in the Gordon unit is reviewed monthly, [Jennifer Hosking, an assistant commissioner in Corrections Victoria’s sentence management division] was unable to say whether you would ever be moved from the Gordon unit,” Beale told Patterson.

“I infer that, given the unprecedented media coverage of your case, and the books, documentaries and TV series about you which are all in the pipeline, you are likely to remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come, and, as such, remain at significant risk from other prisoners.”

Patterson maintains her innocence and has 28 days to file for an appeal, or longer if she applies for an extension.

Her legal team did not respond to requests for comment, but convicted criminals are free to appeal on various fronts, including a claim of an unfair trial or a manifestly excessive sentence.

As for Patterson’s conditions inside prison, Beale said the 50-year-old had in effect been held in continuous solitary confinement for the past 15 months and there was a substantial chance that, for her protection, she would continue to be held in solitary for years to come.

Hosking told the court earlier that those housed in the Gordon unit were permitted only four hours a day out of their cell, but with ongoing staff shortages, even the four hours could not be guaranteed.

Patterson carries with her a maximum security rating and major offender status, which means all meals and medication are brought to her through a flap in her cell door.

The court heard that other women housed in the 20-bed unit long-term include Antonietta Mannella, the girlfriend of crime kingpin George Marrogi, and convicted terrorist Momena Shoma.

Patterson has been granted permission to have contact with one other inmate – Shoma – but she has yet to take up the offer, the court heard.

Shoma is serving a minimum of 36 years after stabbing a homestay host in the neck and separately attacking a prisoner with garden shears.

Patterson’s life term with a minimum of 33 years is among the longest sentences handed to any woman in Victoria.

The court heard if she wants any fresh air, there is a 2 x 1.5-metre concrete yard adjoining her cell, but getting staff to facilitate outdoor time, with continuing shortages, had proved almost impossible.

“In order to attend any other part of the prison — for example, the visitors centre or the library — you are driven there, escorted by two correction officers,” Beale said.

“Whilst, theoretically, prisoners in the Gordon unit are able to access the prison library twice per week for 20 minutes at a time, you have not been able to do so because of staff shortages and a rule that you may not access the library if another is doing so,” he said.

Beale said the harsh conditions for Patterson behind bars were a key factor in giving her the chance of parole.

Sentencing case law, he said, establishes that, as a general rule, harsher than normal conditions of imprisonment will warrant mitigation of penalty.

“The harsh prison conditions that you have experienced already and the likely prospect of solitary confinement for the foreseeable future are important and weighty considerations which should count for something in the sentencing exercise. In my view, the only scope for making them count is by the fixing of a non-parole period,” he said.

Inside her cell, Patterson has access to a television, a computer, a hair straightener and wool for crocheting.

Hosking earlier said Patterson appeared to be an avid crocheter and her cell was adorned with blankets she had made herself.

There are even suggestions she has been making items for others, including her defence team.

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