Another inmate at the Parklea Correctional Centre has been confirmed dead and we understand the cause of death to be suicide by hanging. The suicide occurred over the weekend of 3-4 February 2024. Deaths in custody in NSW have been steadily rising with 43 reported deaths in 2021 and 49 in deaths in 2022, First Nations people represent 22.4% of these deaths.
NSW Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said: “This tragic death was avoidable. Preventable deaths in custody are a stark indicator of a failing state that is not protecting the people in its custody and care when they are at their most vulnerable. Deaths in custody continue to rise and that is because our prisons are awful places that are too focussed on punishment with very little genuine regard for wellness and rehabilitation,”
“I have been informed by a family member of an inmate at Parklea that tragically, the death was suicide by hanging. It is sad and unbelievable that we still see hangings in prisons. The removal of ligature points is a basic and effective method to prevent death by hanging and reduce the rates of deaths in custody. We have consistently called for this as a minimum standard and an effective way to curtail preventable deaths,”
“The Minns Labor Government has to wake up to this issue and get on with reforming the corrections system. Prison must be a place of care and rehabilitation, because right now, they are an inhumane horror show. Correction facilities offer no hope, no health and no alternatives, they are places where human beings are sent to be punished with little hope of recovery or redemption. That does not serve anyone”
“This is not the first instance where Parklea Prison has been the subject of a coroner’s report and without reform, there will be more deaths. We need the Government to act immediately.
“The prison reform voice is growing louder and louder. I am calling on the Premier to stop playing politics with prisons and accept that they are in desperate need of reform. We need him to commit to making prisons places where people are safe and they come out better than when they went in.” Ms Higginson said.
