A mass shooter trying to appeal his conviction for throwing hot coffee at a fellow prisoner has claimed he is being “discriminated against” by the legal system.
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann, 50, killed four people in a drug-fuelled attack in Darwin in 2019 and is now serving three life sentences.
He managed to cause more trouble behind bars by “giving” hot coffee to fellow inmate Jason Doyle in November 2021.
Hoffmann was found guilty of aggravated assault and ordered to spend a minimum of three months behind bars, to be served concurrently with his three life sentences.
However, on Monday he appeared in the Northern Territory Supreme Court for a hearing to appeal the sentence, claiming his post-traumatic stress disorder meant his attack on a fellow prisoner was “a reaction, not an assault”.
Benjamin Hoffmann (pictured speaking on the phone before the attack) threw hot coffee on a fellow prisoner in 2021.
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann (pictured), 50, shot four people in a drug-fueled shooting in Darwin in 2019 (killing three) and is now serving three life sentences.
Hoffmann also argued the court “discriminated against” him by issuing a guilty verdict, New Testament News reported.
“Because I have a life sentence, they basically say I’m guilty of everything,” he said.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it.”
Disturbing CCTV footage from inside Darwin Correctional Center shows Hoffmann, considered one of the state’s worst killers, speaking on the phone moments before confronting Doyle.
Hoffmann claimed that a confrontation with Doyle the previous day had left him nervous as the inmate had threatened him and called him a “shithead.”
“I foresee that I will be attacked, that people will shout and scream around me, I will have hot and cold flashes, I can feel the blows landing on my head,” Hoffmann told the court.
He approached Doyle as he sat drinking a cup of coffee across from another inmate.
The video shows that the couple got into a heated argument, and at one point Hoffmann is seen faking a punch.
Doyle claimed that Hoffmann had challenged him to a fight in the cells, while Hoffmann claimed that Doyle told him “I can fight, Hoffy” and “I’ll crush you.”
The altercation culminated when Hoffmann shoved Doyle’s coffee at him.
Hoffmann (pictured in red) claims his attack on fellow inmate Jason Doyle (left) “was a reaction, not an assault.”
Hoffmann (pictured being detained by police the morning of his 2019 shooting) is serving three life sentences.
Hoffman killed four people (pictured) during a mass shooting in Darwin in 2019 (pictured, clockwise, from top left: Robert Courtney, Hassan Baydoun, Michael Sisois and Nigel Hellings)
On Monday, Hoffmann stated The stress induced by his trauma was compounded by several “brutal”, “premeditated and unprovoked” attacks by other prisoners.
In April 2021, Hoffmann was attacked by three men who punched and kicked him until he was unconscious.
In another incident, a group of men surrounded him in the yard and shouted “total damage” until one punched him in the back of the head.
“Leaving me unconscious on the floor, where I peed my pants and everything,” Hoffmann told the court.
It has not yet been determined who will represent Hoffmann’s appeal case, scheduled for July 9.