A picket will be held to support the Prisoners Legal Service on behalf of
the eight prisoners held at the Maximum Security Unit at Woodford
Correctional Centre.It is on this Tuesday the 16th of March at the Supreme
Court Building, Ann Street, Brisbane, at 9.30 am. The PLS will be
submitting their case to challenge the lockdown conditions at the
elctronic zoo at Woodford to the Court.
All invited. Bring your friends and a placard.
The press release from the PLS about the issue is attached for those who
haven't seen it.
In solidarity,
Brendan
__
Triple Zed 102.1MHz Agitate, Educate, Organise
Brisbane, Australia +61 7 3252 1555 voice
[EMAIL PROTECTED] +61 7 3252 1950 fax
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 09:18:35 +1000
From: Karen Fletcher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Maximum Security Jail "unlawful" say prisoners
MEDIA RELEASE 8 Feb, 1999
Maximum Security Jail "unlawful" say prisoners
The Prisoners Legal Service have filed proceedings in the Queensland
Supreme Court on behalf of nine inmates of the 20-bed Maximum Security Unit
at the Woodford Correctional Centre seeking a declaration that the unit is
not authorised by Corrective Services legislation and injunctions
restraining the QCSC from housing prisoners in the MSU under unlawful
conditions. The action comes hot on the heels of the announcement by the
State Government that 40 new MSU cells are to be opened in 2000.
Under QCSC policy and procedures prisoners in the MSU can be held in
solitary for an indefinite period, with no access to rehabilitative
programs. All prisoners in the unit are accommodated in sound-proofed
cells under constant video surveillance and permitted no contact visits.
Prisoners are restricted to their tiny cells for 22 hours per day.
PLS solicitor Karen Fletcher said that the MSU regime was introduced under
new QCSC policy and procedures when the Woodford Correctional Centre opened
in April 1996. Some inmates of the unit had been there ever since.
"It is incredible that Queensland Corrective Services could be resorting to
this type of regime, in the 1990s, when it has already been so discredited.
Just like Katingal, which was closed down following the Nagle Royal
Commission in NSW in 1978 the unit has no employment facilities, no outdoor
exercise facilities and only tiny, ill-equipped and enclosed exercise
yards." Ms Fletcher said.
"Many of these men have already endured years of inactivity and social
isolation in an air-conditioned, artificially-lit environment, under
constant electronic surveillance - conditions under which anyone�s mental
health would come under severe strain".
"Whether or not you believe that prisoners are entitled to basic human
rights, most people would rather that prisoners did not come out of prison
even more disturbed and anti-social that when they went in."
"Are Corrective Services saying that they cannot provide both adequate
security and basic human rights?"
"We believe that a unit like this should only have been set up if it was
authorised by law, and with proper safeguards in place" said Ms Fletcher.
She said that the Corrective Services Act does contain safeguards for the
solitary confinement of prisoners, such as monthly reviews by Official
Visitors, but these were not being implemented in the MSU.
"Both the previous Minister, Mr Cooper, and the current Minister, Mr
Barton, have told us that they believe public opinion favours the current
approach. We do not believe that this has been tested, because the regime
has never been publicly debated. The Parliament has never voted on it."
"We don�t think it is sufficient for the Minister to simply name an
individual prisoner or two and refer to their crimes as justification for
such a regime. People deserve more than just sensationalism and hysteria.
They deserve an explanation as to why this regime is necessary and why it
will improve public safety".
"Most of the prisoners in this unit will eventually be released into the
community. A regime in which they are treated like animals will not
rehabilitate them and does a great disservice to the cause of public safety
and crime prevention."
"Public opinion did not support the �Black Hole" at Boggo Road, or the
�electronic zoos� of Katingal in NSW or Jika Jika in Victoria. We do not
think that the majority of the public would support this unit if they were
given more information about how it runs" Ms Fletcher said.
Ms Fletcher said the service had also been involved in extensive
negotiations to try to have rehabilitative programs made available inside
the unit, greater provision for exercise and human interaction and contact
visits permitted. Ms Fletcher said that all attempts to negotiate more
humane conditions had failed.
"Initially the QCSC facilitated a quarterly �reference group� of community
representatives which monitored conditions in the MSU and made suggestions
for improvement. This group has not met for a year," Ms Fletcher said.
"This is the kind of unit in which, if legal action were not taken,
prisoners could languish for many many years, well away from the public eye".
LL.QC
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