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Appeal for driver who ran down pedestrians

Karen SweeneyAAP
Saeed Noori is appealing his life sentence for driving into pedestrians in Melbourne, killing one.
Camera IconSaeed Noori is appealing his life sentence for driving into pedestrians in Melbourne, killing one.

A premeditated killing by a man who deliberately drove through a crowd of pedestrians in Melbourne in 2017 is the worst kind of murder, a judge says.

Saeed Noori is appealing the life sentence he was handed for the December 21 attack at the busy CBD intersection of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets that killed 83-year-old Antonio Crocaris and injured 16 others.

His barrister Dermot Dann says while a life sentence was an option, it should never have been given to his client who has a severe mental illness and claimed he was acting in response to a message from Allah in a dream.

While Noori struggled to stay awake during a hearing in Victoria's Court of Appeal on Monday, Mr Dann struggled to find support for his case, with judges countering his points at every turn.

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"It's quite chilling that somebody could drive into a crowded intersection - where innocents are crossing - with foresight of probability that somebody would be killed," Justice Phillip Priest said.

"One must put that emotional response to one side. But the fact of the matter is that this was a premeditated offence."

He said Noori had attempted to hire a vehicle to carry out his crime, had material on his computer from researching similar attacks around the world and later told police he had been commanded in a dream to carry out the attack.

"Speaking for myself, that would put this murder into the worst category," the judge said.

Mr Dann agreed if the judges stopped there, it was a terrible crime, but added that it had to be considered in the context of Noori having a severe mental illness.

Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth, who handed down the life sentence with a minimum 30-year non-parole period, had acknowledged the sentence needed to be moderated because of that.

Mr Dann said because of that concession, life in prison should have been taken off the table.

But Justice Priest suggested the imposition and length of the non-parole period might have reflected the moderation offered by the sentencing judge - a point supported by prosecutors.

He also highlighted the importance of deterrence.

If others like Noori searched the internet for attacks and came upon publicity around him they should know they are going to be "severely punished" for their actions, he said.

Noori pleaded guilty to one charge of murder, 11 of recklessly causing serious injury and five of conduct endangering life.

During his sentence Justice Hollingworth told the father of three that it was "sheer good fortune" that more people had not been killed, while acknowledging survivors were still suffering flashbacks and nightmares.

The appeal judges will hand down their appeal decision at a later date.

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