Supreme Court judge queries Victoria's gun laws while sentencing man for murder Supreme Court: Justice Geoffrey Nettle Source: Herald Sun A SUPREME Court judge has questioned Victorian gun laws while sentencing a man to 12 years in prison for the murder of a man he believed had been molesting children. Clarence Stanley Nelson, 69, used a semi-automatic pistol from his large home arsenal to shoot Graeme Benney dead outside his Wallan home in November 2011. He later told police that he had killed Mr Benney, shooting him three times in front of his wife, because he believed he was a paedophile. In sentencing him to a maximum term of 18 years" imprisonment today, Justice Geoffrey Nettle questioned why the law allowed Nelson to store seven firearms at his home. "If you had not had a cache firearms in your home, the deceased might still be alive," he said. One may wonder, therefore, why the law allows people like you to keep firearms, especially a semi-automatic pistol, anywhere near at hand. Although you bear ultimate responsibility for the death of Graeme Benney, I regard the present state of firearms control regulation as anything but blameless. The court heard Nelson had played judge, jury and executioner in the killing of Mr Benney after he heard allegations of paedophilia. Justice Nettle said Nelson had originally wanted to kill his brother, after allegations had been raised against him. He said that after failing to track his brother down, he went after Nelson. Not to be denied a target, however, you then set out to ascertain the whereabouts of the deceased and having located his address in the White Pages telephone directory you drove immediately to his home. The court heard Nelson and Mr Benney were well known to each other and had become friendly because they were at one time married to first cousins. Mr Benney had invited Nelson into his home and introduced him to his new wife before going outside with Nelson, who had asked him to inspect some damage on his car. "As he stood in the road in front of the car with his wife nearby, you reached in through the driver's door, took out the Luger pistol and emptied three rounds into him at very close range," Justice Nettle said. "As you did so you said, "This will teach you, you bastard, for everything you've done."" The court heard Nelson later vowed to also kill his brother. Justice Nettle said the "calculated and premeditated (murder) was committed with a fearsome weapon on an unknowing and unarmed man." It is an outrage that any man should presume to take it upon himself to act as judge, jury and executioner of another. Whether or not the deceased was a paedophile, and there is no proof that he was, you had absolutely no right or justification for doing what you did. Justice Nettle said he had taken into consideration Nelson's early plea of guilty, remorse and ill health. He said it was not improbable that Nelson would die in jail.