Notorious criminal figure George Marrogi has secured a legal victory concerning his incarceration conditions, as a judge determined that Marrogi was unjustly denied access to fresh air.
The judge referenced legal provisions requiring that every inmate is allowed to spend at least one hour daily in the open air.
Marrogi’s legal team contended that he was wrongfully denied this entitlement during his detention at both the Melbourne Remand Centre and Barwon Prison from May 2023 until September last year.
On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Claire Harris concurred with this argument, deciding that the rear yards of the remand centre’s Exford Units, as well as Barwon’s Olearia, Melaleuca, and Acacia units, did not provide sufficient open air access.
“The yard felt confined, offering limited space for movement, with the only outdoor view restricted to the sky above through the mesh covering the cell’s roof,” Justice Harris remarked in her written decision.
However, Justice Harris acknowledged that prisoners did have proper access to open air within the exercise yards of the Olearia and Acacia units.
After going in person to view the units, she noted she could see the sky in those spaces and it was possible to feel a breeze.
“I felt the warmth of the sun coming into the yard, which was visible in the brightness and shadows it cast, and felt breezes,” the judgment read.
“I could hear sounds of birds and other sounds associated with being outside, such as airplanes and the sound of wind.”
In contrast, the rear yards at Barwon and the Melbourne Remand Centre were small and felt enclosed with layered wire mesh ceilings, the judge said.
“There was no sense of being outside or in an open space,” the judgment read.
Justice Harris also found that there were dozens of occasions between May 2023 and June 2025 where Marrogi’s right to dress in private after a strip search was breached.
The parties will return to court to discuss next steps at a later date.
