NEWCASTLE man Emmett Sheard claims he wasn't embarrassed about being bashed by another inmate in a packed holding cell at a Sydney jail and wasn't out for "revenge" when a few minutes later he repeatedly stabbed the man to death.
Mr Sheard has pleaded not guilty to murdering 33-year-old Michael Black at Parklea Correctional Centre in April 2020 and claims he was acting in self-defence after twice being attacked and stabbed in the chin during a dispute over buprenorphine.
Crown prosecutor David Patch claims Mr Sheard was out for "revenge" and not acting in self-defence after earlier being bashed and "humiliated" by Mr Black.
Mr Sheard finished giving evidence on Thursday and was asked whether he was embarrassed about being beaten by Mr Black.
"No, he is actually a good fighter," Mr Sheard said, insisting he wasn't "humiliated". "One of the best fighters in the jail."
And when asked by his barrister, Public Defender Tony Evers, if he was out for "revenge" after the assault, Mr Sheard replied: "I was waiting for the officers to pull us out of the cell. I just wanted it to be over and I was just trying to recover from what just happened."
Mr Sheard is accused of using a shiv to stab Mr Black eight times in a frenzied attack while the pair were in the packed holding cell waiting to appear in court.
The fatal wound was a puncture to the right lung, the jury has heard.
Towards the end of the fatal confrontation, Mr Black ran to the front of the cell and was "cowering" as Mr Sheard slashed him to the thigh, causing him to bleed profusely.
When correctional officers arrived, one armed with a hand-held camera, Mr Sheard could be heard yelling at Mr Black, saying: "I hope you die you little maggot. I'll f---ing murder you."
The cell was covered by a CCTV camera, but an inmate had covered it with wet toilet paper and the fatal confrontation was not recorded.
During his closing address, Mr Patch told the jury the repeated use of the word "fight" during the trial should not "cloud your assessment of what really happened".
"The evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the incident in which Michael Black was fatally stabbed was not really a fight," Mr Patch said. "It was not the "second fight" in that cell that day. That's not really what happened. The correct way to characterise the incident in which Mr Black was stabbed and died is that it was an attack."
Mr Patch said Mr Sheard stabbed Mr Black repeatedly with the intention of killing him and continued to demonstrate this intention by insulting Mr Black and saying: "I hope you die".
