Bernie Matthews is the author of Intractable (Macmillan, 2006). His report “DNA and the justice game” from Griffith REVIEW 4: Making Perfect Bodies, was shortlisted for the Queensland Media Prize that year.

Matthews is a convicted bank robber and prison escapee who has served time for armed robbery and prison escapes in NSW (1969-1980) and Queensland (1996-2000). During his periods of incarceration Bernie studied journalism and received scholarships to study as an external student at the University of Southern Queensland.

His insider’s account of Brenden Abbott’s escape from Sir David Longlands Correctional Centre, “The Day Cassidy won the Cup” is published in Justice in the Deep North: A Historical Perspective of Crime and Punishment in Queensland.