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Here, There are Dragons
In August 2019, Witness J, a decorated Duntroon graduate and former military and civilian intelligence officer, was publicly outed as Australia’s first recorded secret prisoner. He was arrested, remanded, tried and imprisoned under unprecedented levels of secrecy, and after spending his first month in solitary confinement, spent the remainder of his 455 day sentence in the Alexander Maconochie Centre’s notorious sexual-offender wing, despite not being a sexual-offender himself. ‘Here, There are Dragons’ is an honest memoir exploring what it is like to live among paedophiles, rapists and murderers in prison, and considers the philosophical question the author has struggled can one accept the humanity of these predators and not lose yourself in the process?
275 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 14, 2021
‘After secretly serving 455, days in prison, I was released on recognizance in August 2019 and quietly re-entered society.’
Witness J, I have read, was Australia’s first recorded secret prisoner. This book does not tell us why Witness J was imprisoned for 455 days in the ACT’s Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC). He was housed with sex offenders and paedophiles because they are set apart from the AMC’s general prison population for their own protection.
It is disconcerting, reading an account of life in prison without some knowledge of why a person has been imprisoned. I want to be able to make my own judgments about this anonymous man’s crime and punishment, but I cannot. Instead, I read about some of the other men incarcerated (I have lived in Canberra for a long time and recognise several of the names mentioned) and the dynamics of prison life in this part of the AMC.
As Julian Burnside AO QC writes in his foreword:
‘The book considers the philosophical question J has struggled with: can you accept the humanity of people like these and not lose yourself in the process?’
I find this a difficult question to consider, especially in relation to sexual predators and paedophiles. What defines an individual’s humanity? Do (some) people cease to be considered human because of the crimes they commit? Witness J, I read, is a decorated Duntroon graduate and former military and civilian intelligence officer. His observations of life in prison: the social hierarchy, the conflicts and (some) of the people make for a thought-provoking read. I wonder, too, about the humanity of a process which incarcerates a man in secret. In 21st century Australia.
Many questions here, fewer answers.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Witness J, I have read, was Australia’s first recorded secret prisoner. This book does not tell us why Witness J was imprisoned for 455 days in the ACT’s Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC). He was housed with sex offenders and paedophiles because they are set apart from the AMC’s general prison population for their own protection.
It is disconcerting, reading an account of life in prison without some knowledge of why a person has been imprisoned. I want to be able to make my own judgments about this anonymous man’s crime and punishment, but I cannot. Instead, I read about some of the other men incarcerated (I have lived in Canberra for a long time and recognise several of the names mentioned) and the dynamics of prison life in this part of the AMC.
As Julian Burnside AO QC writes in his foreword:
‘The book considers the philosophical question J has struggled with: can you accept the humanity of people like these and not lose yourself in the process?’
I find this a difficult question to consider, especially in relation to sexual predators and paedophiles. What defines an individual’s humanity? Do (some) people cease to be considered human because of the crimes they commit? Witness J, I read, is a decorated Duntroon graduate and former military and civilian intelligence officer. His observations of life in prison: the social hierarchy, the conflicts and (some) of the people make for a thought-provoking read. I wonder, too, about the humanity of a process which incarcerates a man in secret. In 21st century Australia.
Many questions here, fewer answers.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 21, 2022
This was a really well written book and easy read. I felt uncomfortable with how 'voyeur-y' it felt. Witness J is at pains to show the 'humanity' of the other people he shares the prison with but only to a certain extent. He always sees himself also as separate and distinct from them. And I get this, it's hard to wholeheartedly embrace the humanity of someone who has perpetrated horrendous crimes against children, but it made reading his story uncomfortable. I also had considerable discomfort with the way he described and named (first and last name) other people in the prison. Often resorting to caricatures for those he did not like, and having very little regard for the feelings of the people he wrote about or their family members who might read the book. Perhaps some might think that's fair enough - but I don't see any compelling reason to do it. It didn't add anything to the book to make everyone identifiable, and all it potentially did was humiliate people or their loved ones.
Those were my concerns. Separately to that I also felt he wonderfully conveyed the normalcy of so many interactions these men are having with eachother just trying to get on with their lives (behind bars). The conversations, the ways they spend time, the food they share - he showed the camaraderie and the tensions as well as the friendships in a way that was meaningful.
Those were my concerns. Separately to that I also felt he wonderfully conveyed the normalcy of so many interactions these men are having with eachother just trying to get on with their lives (behind bars). The conversations, the ways they spend time, the food they share - he showed the camaraderie and the tensions as well as the friendships in a way that was meaningful.
January 3, 2021
A memoir by Australia’s first secret prisoner, jailed in Canberra’s Alexander Maconochie Centre. An interesting recount of his time spent in the sex offender wing, and how he made peace (or a version of peace) with the situation. Explores questions of morality and the dimensions of some of Australia’s worst criminals.
October 30, 2020
It’s hard to catagorise this book. Part ethics, part slow-read and part character observations on the most despised human beings.
It’s a slow read where nothing much happens and the pages are filled with observations of prison dynamics and reflections on the quandary of being stuck with people society despises, despite not being one of them (a sex offender), but also trying to make the most of a pretty grim and inescapable situation. This makes it sound like a boring read but it achieves the exact opposite. Witness J gives thought to genuine internal conflict, social hierarchies & ethics all via the mundanity of prison life and highlights how pure evil can sometimes manifest in a person who is otherwise considered perfectly normal & acceptable by those around them.
It’s a slow read where nothing much happens and the pages are filled with observations of prison dynamics and reflections on the quandary of being stuck with people society despises, despite not being one of them (a sex offender), but also trying to make the most of a pretty grim and inescapable situation. This makes it sound like a boring read but it achieves the exact opposite. Witness J gives thought to genuine internal conflict, social hierarchies & ethics all via the mundanity of prison life and highlights how pure evil can sometimes manifest in a person who is otherwise considered perfectly normal & acceptable by those around them.
August 4, 2020
The writer ‘Witness J’ is in prison following Australia’s first secret trial. His unique circumstances put him into a setting where he lives closely with people he deeply despises for the nature of their crimes. This book is his attempt as an inside outsider - with them, but not one of them, to reconcile the discord between his visceral response to their crimes and the everyday humanity of the men he is forced to live with.
It is an interesting read and raises some difficult questions. Perhaps the best result of this work was the fact it led to Australia becoming alerted to the existence of Witness J and the issues surrounding his incarceration. And that’s another story.
It is an interesting read and raises some difficult questions. Perhaps the best result of this work was the fact it led to Australia becoming alerted to the existence of Witness J and the issues surrounding his incarceration. And that’s another story.
June 28, 2020
A memoir by Australia’s first secret prisoner
Fascinating insight into what it’s like being a “special detainee” held with rapists and paedophiles while not being a sexual offender himself and his grappling with the humane dimensions of the evil perpetrators who are his fellow inmates.
Fascinating insight into what it’s like being a “special detainee” held with rapists and paedophiles while not being a sexual offender himself and his grappling with the humane dimensions of the evil perpetrators who are his fellow inmates.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews