<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The son of </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia's"><span>Australia's</span></a><span> most notorious bank robber and </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/prison" rel="" target="" title="prison"><span>prison</span></a><span> escapee says it's time to set his father free. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brenden Abbott, known as the "Postcard Bandit", has launched a Supreme Court challenge to his </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/western-australia" rel="" target="" title="Western Australian"><span>Western Australian</span></a><span> jail term, 36 years after he broke out of Fremantle Prison.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His son, James Laycock, who he fathered while on the run, flew from Sydney to attend the hearing. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/kanye-west-visa-cancelled-tony-burke/eea09d31-812a-44d1-8578-2bad18f5a898"><strong><span>Australian government reveals bombshell Kanye West decision</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Having my father around would be great. Haven't had it before. So wait to see what happens," said Laycock.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abbott gained notoriety for a series of jailbreaks and robberies across Australia, beginning with his 1989 escape from Fremantle Prison.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was captured in Queensland six years later, only to escape custody again. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/brenden-abbott-son-seeks-early-release-for-postcard-bandit/2779772b-2b2a-44aa-8eac-f1f9a16a866d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The law finally caught up with him in 1998, when he was arrested in Darwin. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abbott has been locked up ever since, serving 18 years in Queensland before being extradited to Perth in 2016 to finish his original robbery sentence. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He's now served more time than some murderers. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Doing crimes, you get jail time for doing the wrong thing, but it's been way too long," said Laycock.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/community-expresses-disgust-at-alleged-childcare-rapist-as-urgent-review-launched/ecf4dda8-7f8a-435f-93ea-43f7fd152b74"><strong><span>'Disgust' at alleged childcare rapist, urgent review</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-court-omar-haouchar-parking-inspectors-unknowingly-foil-alleged-murder-plot-against-andre-kallita/cba63f1b-b2b1-4919-844e-078f2980752b" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Man about to be murdered when parking inspector arrives</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abbott's lawyer, Matthew Crowley, is now fighting the legality of his ongoing imprisonment in WA, telling a court "there's a complicated patchwork at play".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mr Crowley says his client's 1980s robbery sentence kept running while he was at large, expiring in 1994 - meaning by the time he was caught, he'd "achieved an unconditional right of liberty". </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The case is incredibly complex, but much of it centres on what sentencing laws applied at the time of Abbott's escape and recapture. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The now-63-year-old is eligible for parole in October of next year. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If he wins this case, he could be freed sooner. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hearing has been adjourned until next month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>This article was produced with the assistance of</span></em><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/9express/16480c33-636a-461f-9c4f-d0e2522c722a"><em><span>9ExPress</span></em></a><em><span>.</span></em></div></div>