Len Lawson The Real Life Comic Book Bad Guy Part Four
Len Lawson The Real Life Comic Book Bad Guy Part Three
This article is a compilation of several articles previously written on Lenard Lawson all focusing on different aspects of his life, whether it be his time as a popular comic book artist, the censorship in the comic book industry of the era or the resulting criminal cases arising from Lawson terrible deeds. I have arranged and edited them to give a more encompassing story of the man who could’ve been Australia’s greatest comic artist to a man who died in prison of old age.
The articles are listed here for reference.
HIS FINAL VICTIM
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| Lenard Lawson 1973 |
On Sunday June 18th 1972 a concert was held in the chapel at Parramatta Gaol to entertain the prisoners. Afterward, the entertainers, including three dancers, were invited to have some light refreshments, put on by the arts and crafts committee, of which Lawson was secretary.
Prisoners and performers mingled in a rec room under the gaze of Lawson’s undeniably accomplished portrait paintings. Sharon Hamilton, a 23-year-old dancer, was admiring his portrait of President John F. Kennedy when Lawson tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to sign the visitors' book.
She did and complimented him on his art, saying it was beautiful.
Soon after it was announced the visit was over. Standing beside Sharon Hamilton, Lawson was called on to give a speech of thanks. In an instant, he grabbed her and put a knife to her throat and another to her back.
“Everybody leave the room but her,” he said. “Don’t anyone move or I’ll let her have it,” he said.
But this time Lawson wasn’t dealing with frightened schoolgirls or models he’d lured into the bush. He was in a room with criminals, none of whom wanted to see a young woman hurt.
Two prisoners lunged at Lawson. One punched him in the face. Lawson staggered back. A prison guard stepped in to grapple with him while the other prisoner pulled Sharon Hamilton free.
Lawson dropped one knife and another was ripped from him by a second guard who helped to contain him.
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| The Age 19 June 1972 |
Lawson faced court in August 1972 and was sentenced to another five years.
Sharon Hamilton served a sentence in her own psychological prison. She found it hard to work, to go out, to socialise: everywhere she looked she saw Lawson.
What she appeared to be suffering from was post-traumatic stress disorder, which was still a few years from being defined and recognised. From 1974 to 1976 Sharon was treated for her psychological problems in a private hospital. Unfortunately, that hospital was Chelmsford, where destructive deep-sleep and electroshock therapy was practised, leading to the deaths of 43 patients and an eventual Royal Commission.
In 1976, Sharon won a payout from the state government of nearly $100,000, admitting their negligence had led to Lawson’s attack on her. But life didn’t get any easier for Sharon. She had a tumultuous relationship with a doctor and suffered from depression. In 1978 she took her own life.
AUSTRALIA’S LONGEST-SERVING PRISONER
Behind bars, Leonard Lawson continued to paint, donating his art works to charities and raising tens of thousands of dollars. In 1994 the possibility of parole was raised for Lawson. But Wendy Luscombe’s brother — along with several of the women who’d survived the school siege — protested loudly. The government listened, sanity prevailed and Lawson remained in Grafton jail.
In 1999, Lawson, now Australia’s longest-serving prisoner, was interviewed for 60 Minutes. He presented as a kindly old codger who just wanted the chance to feel the grass under his feet one more again before he died.
No-one was prepared to be fooled again.
He died on November 29, 2003, aged 76, and was missed by no-one.
The 1999 60 minutes edition with an interview with Len Lawson .
ADDITIONAL BITS
Lawson’s crimes are revisited in Portrait Of The Artist As A Murderer, a new play by Robert Armstrong for the true crime production, Deadhouse: Tales Of Sydney Morgue, played at The Rocks Discovery Museum April /May 2018 Lawson later also appeared before the Coroners Court, charged with two murders in late 1961. Producer and historian Stephen Carnell used cases associated with the old Sydney Morgue and Coroners Court, housed at George St in The Rocks from 1854 until 1971 in the Deadhouse series.
