The NSW deaths only came to light after Greens MLC David Shoebridge asked Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin at a NSW budget estimates on March 9.
Severin defended authorities’ silence saying that it was “not appropriate” to advise the public of deaths without any detail and “cause a lot of anger, a lot of angst and a lot of grief”.
Karly Warner, spokesperson for the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS), called for government accountability. “While identification of people who die in custody must be up to families, the government should be more transparent and timely in the information they share with the public,” she said on March 9.
Last modified on Thu 11 Mar 2021 19.59 EST
Aboriginal justice advocates have expressed their devastation following a third Indigenous death in custody in a week and demanded the Australian prime minister urgently meet with bereaved families to progress reforms.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (Natsils) representatives from across the country, who met on Thursday, said they were “horrified and deeply upset”.
“We are extremely concerned that while our people continue to die in custody at alarming rates, federal, state and territory governments have had the answers to end this injustice for 30 years but have chosen not to act,” they said in a statement.
COVID-19 outbreak at Thunder Bay District Jail declared over
The Section 22 Order requiring released inmates to go to the Isolation Shelter is rescinded.
Mar 11, 2021 2:17 PM By: TbNewsWatch.com Staff
The TBDHU made the announcement Thursday.
OPSEU, the union that represents correcctional officers, says 45 of its members and at least 70 inmates became infected at various points during the outbreak.
The health unit said enhanced infection prevention and control measures will remain in place at the jail to mitigate the risk of new cases developing.
All incoming inmates will continue to be isolated upon arrival to ensure any community-acquired cases do not spread, the TBDHU said in a news release.
Groups object to isolation order for freed prisoners in Thunder Bay theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.