R v Fietkau

Aleksander Fietkau was convicted of murdering Stephen Ali in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The appellant admitted to stabbing Ali in the back and striking him with a sledgehammer. He claimed self-defence and defence of others, arguing that he believed Ali posed a life-threatening danger to him and others in the house. The appeal was based on two grounds: the trial judge's failure to properly direct the jury on self-defence under sections 273 and 31(3) of the Criminal Code. The court found that the trial judge did not err in his direction regarding self-defence, as the statutory provisions did not permit the appellant to use force to defend himself or others from an assault that was not occurring at the time of the stabbing. Additionally, the court held that section 31(3) of the Criminal Code does not extend to acts constituting the crime of murder, and thus, it had no application to the appellant's actions. The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction upheld.

MINUTES OF ORDER: Appeal against conviction dismissed.