Australia's dangerous female prisoner poised for release under high-risk offender provisions
Rebecca Butterfield, long described as among the nation’s most volatile inmates, is undergoing supervised steps toward community reintegration as judges steer her path to release.
Rebecca Butterfield, a 51-year-old inmate described by authorities as one of Australia’s most dangerous female prisoners, is on track for release into the community after the New South Wales Supreme Court revoked orders that kept her detained and allowed only routine psychiatric reviews to justify her continued confinement. The court’s decision last year effectively ended formal detention orders tied to the Crimes Act provisions for high-risk violent offenders, though regular psychiatric oversight remains in place. Sources briefed on the matter told The Sunday Telegraph that Butterfield’s release is inevitable, even as authorities acknowledge her ability to strike violently on short notice.
Butterfield is currently held in a high-security setting at Long Bay Correctional Complex’s Forensic Hospital, where prison officials are under a court order to prepare her for outside trips as part of her integration plan. She has already been granted multiple day-release outings, including grocery shopping, and is expected to accumulate additional supervised outings as authorities continue the transition toward life beyond the prison walls. The court has signaled that Corrective Services NSW should cease what have been ongoing efforts to keep her in custody, even as she is considered a greater management risk than some notorious inmates. Butterfield’s case has drawn attention for the breadth of her offences and the duration of her confinement under high-risk offender provisions.
Butterfield’s trajectory from a troubled early life to a feared inmate has been marked by a pattern of extreme violence and self-harm, with a long record that has included attacks on inmates and staff, as well as repeated self-injury. Born in rural New South Wales to a police officer, she faced a series of escalating offences that culminated in a high-profile murder-for-whire scenario inside a women’s prison. In 1997 she was convicted of malicious damage in her hometown after an incident sparked by anger over a failed prosecution against a man she alleged had sexually assaulted her. Her violence quickly escalated.
In 2000 Butterfield was convicted of malicious wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm for stabbing a neighbour who had attempted to stop her self-harming, receiving a minimum three-year sentence. While incarcerated, prison psychiatrists diagnosed her with an extreme rage and self-loathing component of a personality disorder, a framework that accompanied ongoing reports of unpredictable and dangerous behavior. In 2002 she added another four months to her sentence for assault occasioning bodily harm while in custody. She was moved to Emu Plains Correctional Centre as she approached the end of her sentence, where she encountered Bluce Lim Ward, a 30-year-old Filipina businesswoman nearing release after serving fraud-related time. On May 7, 2003, Butterfield grabbed industrial scissors from a prison workshop and fatally stabbed Ward, stabbing her 34 times as Ward moved toward release. Ward died at the scene, and Butterfield was moved to Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre, where she was placed in segregation and subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
Butterfield’s long-running high-risk designation followed. She was marked on her file as extremely dangerous, with warnings about the potential to remove handcuffs during external escorts and threats toward staff. Her record includes repeated assaults on staff—head-butting officers, tearing and throwing bodily fluids, and even self-directed harm, including self-inflicted throat injuries and multiple self-harm attempts. In 2008 she set her cell on fire, suffering burns, and in 2009 prison staff discovered a scene described as horrific after hearing banging in a self-harm unit; a veteran officer witnessed a skull fracture and other injuries, described as a grievous injury from self-directed violence that left Butterfield with severe head trauma.
The combined weight of disciplinary matters, described as in excess of 110, including roughly 40 assaults, has shaped the long, contentious debate over how to manage Butterfield’s release. Her crimes have spanned more than a decade inside the corrections system, and her case has become a touchstone for how far authorities should go in attempting to balance public safety with the legal framework that permits the release of high-risk offenders. In 2000 she cut open a male officer’s face with a jagged piece of plastic; in 2008 she assaulted a pregnant nurse during a hospital treatment and bombarded staff with boiling water and urine during other incidents. The breadth and severity of Butterfield’s acts are cited by supporters and critics alike in debates about community reintegration and the resources needed to support a person deemed to pose ongoing risk.
Butterfield’s current status places her under guarded preparation for life outside prison, with the expectation that she will reside in an NDIS-funded home and live under some supervision by authorities upon release. The path to community life is being charted through supervised outings, ongoing psychiatric reviews, and ongoing assessment by Corrective Services NSW as part of a formal transition program designed to minimize risk while satisfying legal requirements. Her case has drawn comparisons to other high-profile inmates, including those involved in terrorism and gang activity, and has prompted discussions about how the justice system should treat extreme cases that have persisted over many years. The NSW Supreme Court’s approach underscores a willingness to shift the balance toward eventual release even in situations where the risk remains demonstrably high, a stance that continues to provoke debate among officials, experts, and the public.
Public safety authorities stress that Butterfield will remain under supervision after release, with the expectation that she will be monitored and supported within an integrated framework designed to address both her needs and the potential risk she poses. Lifeline at 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue at 1300 224 636 are listed as resources for individuals seeking help related to mental health and well-being in times of distress as Butterfield’s case unfolds and the community looks for clarity on how such high-risk transitions are managed.