“I’ve never lasted this long on parole – ever”. Greg, who has spent 18 of the past 25 years in prison, is one of 70 men who’ve been through the Maribyrnong facility.
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Human rights lawyers are calling for an end to 14-day mandatory quarantine for Victorian prisoners when they first enter jail because there s no COVID-19 in the community.
The government introduced protective quarantine at the start of the pandemic, separating new inmates from the main prison population for a two-week period to prevent an outbreak in the system.
But with no cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, Human Rights Law Centre s legal director Monique Hurley said protective quarantine should end, calling the measure disproportionately harsh.
Marngoneet Correctional Centre [foreground] with Barwon Prison [background] near Geelong.
Credit:Craig Abraham Protective quarantine is too often code for solitary confinement, which is an inhuman and degrading practice known to inflict long term and irreversible harm on people, Ms Hurley said.