An inmate who set fire to clothes and bedding inside his cell has been sentenced to a year in prison.
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But Nicholas Asher Raeyers, 29, will be eligible for parole in 18 days, prompting Justice Richard Refshauge to warn him to keep away from people "who want you to stick something in your arm, or up your nose" upon release.
Raeyers was in the Alexander Maconochie Centre for a series of offences in July last year, when he said he became frustrated over the lack of support for his depression.
He became abusive with guards, the court heard, and was sent to the prison's management unit, where misbehaving inmates are kept.
During his time in the management unit, Raeyers had a conversation with a guard that made him agitated and upset.
He slammed a door and pressed a buzzer repeatedly in an attempt to get the attention of the guards.
Raeyers then used wet toilet paper to cover the cell's camera, something he said he did to get someone to come and talk to him.
Some time later, guards noticed black smoke coming from the cell.
Raeyers had set bedding and clothing alight, causing upwards of $5000 damage, and preventing the cell from being used for weeks.
The fire did not spread from his cell, and the inmate said he had not intended to cause anyone harm.
Authorities, for reasons unknown to the court, waited until the end of his non-parole period to summons him to court to answer the charge of arson.
That was something Justice Refshauge described as "cruel".
The inmate pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Justice Refshauge described his criminal record, consisting of 161 convictions, as "absolutely shocking".
But he described the arson offence as toward the lower end of seriousness for crimes of its type.
Raeyers was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, which was backdated to when he was first summonsed to court.
His non-parole period was set to end in 18 days.
That would allow the inmate to apply for release into the community under supervision, a structure which the court heard had proved successful for him in the past.
Despite that, Justice Refshauge gave a bleak assessment of his future prospects.
"I don't have any expectation that you'll avoid the criminal justice system," he said.
Raeyers' history, the judge said, was "against him", but his young age was noted, as was the support and love of his mother, which gave him a chance to turn his life around.
