Thirty years on, our people still die in custody. This is why We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Thirty years on, our people still die in custody. This is why Warning: This article contains names and distressing details pertaining to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody. By Karly Warner Normal text size Advertisement Thirty years ago on Thursday, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down 339 recommendations to stop our brothers, sisters, parents and children losing their lives in the care of the state. Since then, very few of those recommendations have been meaningfully implemented. Meanwhile, more than 470 more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died gasping for breath on cold prison floors, slumped over in watch-houses, roasting in the back of paddy-wagons, impaled upon fences or drowned in rivers while running from police who they had good reason to fear. These words are horrifying. They are graphic. I know they are hard to read.