Killer has 'no regrets' over hacking off finger

The murderer admits hacking off his little finger in February was a "ridiculous" act, but he says the self-mutilation was worth it in letters to his family, which are due to be published in the Australian Women's Weekly.

In a letter to his brother Bill, he said: "I don't regret it, though it was a stupid act.

"It was a ridiculous thing to do, but in here acts like that is (sic) regarded as normal and really not as severe as some."

"I wonder if I will have enough time to prove my innocence as time flies, but it takes a long time to get a reply from the authority-courts-government.

"That was a big factor in severing the finger off, to highlight the difficulties of a prisoner who wishes to appeal his case."

Caroline Clarke made the last fortnightly call to her parents on April 16, 1992, before leaving Sydney with her friend and fellow backpacker Joanne Walters, of Maesteg, South Wales.

Five months later, their bodies were found in a shallow grave in a forest 80 miles from Sydney.

Yet it wasn't until four years later that Milat was convicted of their murders and five others.

Film director Glen McLean caused outrage in 2005 when he made the film Wolf Creek, a horror said to be inspired by Milat's crimes.

It's thought Milat's finger-sawing episode was a ruse to be moved to a medical facility to enhance his chances of escape.

All it resulted in, however, was the removal of his eating utensils and his much-loved toasted sandwich maker from his cell.

Milat complained: "The prison controllers seem to think I need some punishment, so they took my plastic plates and cup and my main meal in a sealed pack is tipped out on a dinner plate, no means given to cut anything up.

"And they took my Breville away. I always rely on that, use it to reheat, cook other things, even to toast bread."

Milat has a history of self-mutilation and in 2001 swallowed razor blades, paper staples, a tiny metal chain and later that year he also swallowed part of the flushing mechanism from the toilet in his cell.