John Vincent Barry

Sir John Vincent William Barry (13 June 1903 to 8 November 1969) was an Australian judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and an expert in criminology. Born in Albury, New South Wales, he qualified as a lawyer in 1923, was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1926 and built a practice before juries and later in appellate and High Court work. After watching a murder trial that ended in a hanging he became an opponent of the death penalty. He was appointed King's Counsel in 1942, acted in the inquiry into the Darwin air raids and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria on 14 January 1947. He became foundation chairman of the Department of Criminology at the University of Melbourne in 1951, served on the Victorian Parole Board from 1957, was knighted in 1961 and from 1966 was the senior puisne judge of his court. His writings, including a biography of the penal reformer Alexander Maconochie, mostly concern criminology and punishment.