William John O'Meally (born Joseph Thompson; 25 November 1920 in Young, New South Wales – 1995 in rural Queensland)[1] was an Australian criminal, notorious as the last man to be flogged in Victoria in 1958.
On the night of 30 January 1952 Constable George Howell was working at the Malvern East Police Station.
He was unarmed when he left the station on a bicycle to patrol the area around the Crystal Palace Theatre, Caulfield where there had been a number of thefts from cars.
When the young constable approached him, the man dropped his torch and a set of car keys and ran.
The man turned and shot George Howell once, in the stomach, at point-blank range.
After 10 days of evidence from 41 witnesses the jury took four hours to find O'Meally guilty.
With an accomplice, John Henry Taylor, who was armed with a .38 automatic handgun, he ran through the main gates of the gaol.
Chief Penal officer Robert Davis tried to stop them and was shot in the thigh, breaking his femur.
The pair ran to a nearby filling station, stole a ute belonging to future racing champion Norm Beechey, before O'Meally then took the firearm and engaged in a gun battle with warders.
[6] On 31 October 1957 Mr Justice Hudson told O'Meally and Taylor; "You are both clearly beyond hope of reform.
Simply to sentence you to a further term of imprisonment would be to impose a totally inadequate form of punishment, and would provide no real deterrent against further attacks of a like character.
O'Meally was last heard of living in Queensland[10] and according to relatives, died in 2011 in Brisbane at the age of 92.