Evie Amati, the transgender person who was convicted of attacking three strangers with an axe at a 7Eleven will spend an additional five years behind bars after the leniency of their sentence was appealed by prosecutors.
Amati was found guilty in August 2018 of wounding with intent to murder. Amati entered a 7-Eleven convenience story in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Enmore on January 7th 2017 and struck two people with an axe.
In January Amati was sentenced to nine years in prison, but they would have be eligible for parole in four and half years.
An appeal court has now ruled the original sentence was insufficient. Amati will now serve a sentence of fourteen years, and will be available for parole after seven years. The maximum sentence they could have received for the offence was 25 years.
During the trial Amati pleaded not guilty arguing that they were not of sound mind due to a toxic mix of hormone medication, cannabis, amphetamines and alcohol.
The trial judge said he took into account Amati’s underlying mental health issues, but it did not take away from the trauma that the victims had suffered.
During the trial the jury saw graphic CCTV footage that showed 26 year-old Amati attacking customers Ben Rimmer and Sharon Hacker causing both serious injuries. A third man, Shane Redwood, avoiding being attacked by Amati outside the store when he fended off their blows with his backpack. All three people were strangers to Amati.
During the trial Amati said they had no recollection of the incident but reported having feelings of ‘homicidal rage’ in the hours leading up to the attach. They expressed remorse for their actions during the high profile trial.
At the time of arrest Amati was living as a transgender woman, having undergone gender reassignment surgery several years earlier. During the appeal hearing it was revealed that Amati has now begun the process of detransitioning.
OIP Staff
