Jury retires in Williams murder case


AAP

The jury in the trial of the man accused of murdering underworld assassin Carl Williams has begun its deliberations.

Matthew Charles Johnson, 38, has claimed he acted in self defence when he killed Williams on April 19 last year in the high-security unit they shared in Barwon Prison.

Johnson gave evidence that a third inmate in their prison unit told him Williams planned to kill him.

As a result he attacked and killed Williams the next day with the seat post from an exercise bike.

Trial judge Justice Lex Lasry has told the jury it has three options to consider.

Firstly it is open for the 12 jurors to agree on a verdict of guilty of murder if they conclude Johnson did not believe Williams intended to kill him.

If they find Johnson had a reasonable belief that his life was in danger from Williams or that he was likely to suffer serious injury at the time of the killing, they can find that he acted in self defence and is not guilty of any crime.

The third option is that he acted in the belief that Williams intended killing him, but that such a belief was not reasonably held.

In that case they can find him guilty of defensive homicide, for which he can be sentenced.

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