MEDIA RELEASE 10 AUGUST 1999
Prisoners struggle for justice celebrated at Parliament
Ex-prisoners, lawyers, union officials, politicians, academics and friends
and families of prisoners will today commemorate International Prisoners
Justice Day (IPJD) at 3pm, with a function in the Presidential Dining Room
of NSW Parliament House hosted by MLC President, Dr Meredith Burgmann, to
highlight the struggle for justice by prisoners.
"This year International Prisoners Justice Day's focus is on prisoners as
members of the community. The successful defence of prisoners' voting
rights was a recognition by Australians of prisoners' social and political
rights. The extension of that success, to protect their inherent citizens'
rights in practice, is well stated in the Australian Prisoners Union (APU)
list of issues," said Brett Collins of Justice Action.
"Today, we call for an amnesty gesture for prisoners for the new
millennium. A statement of goodwill, recognising the need for
community-building and reconciliation, an amnesty will go some way to
addressing the loss of remissions and the longer sentences that have
resulted from the Truth in Sentencing legislation, despite all the
assurances to the contrary." Mr Collins went on to say.
"An amnesty, combined with the falling crime rate, would mean the
government can scrap its plan to build more jails and release the funds to
help resettle prisoners and their families for a fresh start in the new
century," Kilty O'Gorman, a spokesperson for Justice Action said.
APU issues:
In July 1999, the APU was launched to campaign on a range of issues
including legal aid, communication generally, re-introduction of
remissions, proper employment entitlements, freedom of association,
visiting rights including privacy rights, access to computers, control of
prisoners' services including health and post-release services, and
improved education and rehabilitation services.
IPJD history:
International Prisoners' Justice Day marks the anniversary of the 1974
death of Eddie Nalon, a prisoner who bled to death in a solitary
confinement unit at Millhaven Maximum Security Prison, Canada, when the
emergency call button in his cell failed to work. An inquest found that
the call button in that unit had been deactivated by the guards. The
following year, prisoners at Millhaven marked the anniversary of Eddie's
death by fasting and refusing to work. In May 1976, with the call buttons
not yet repaired, Bobby Landers was the next to die. With no way to call
for help, all he could do was scribble a note that described the symptoms
of his fatal heart attack. What started as a one-time event, behind the
walls of Millhaven Prison, has become an international day of solidarity.
August 10 is the day prisoners and their supporters honour the memory of
those who have died in prison, and express solidarity with those demanding
changes to the criminal justice system that dehumanises and brutalises
them.
For further comment contact:
Kilty O'Gorman or Brett Collins on 0414 705 003 or 9281 5100
justice
ACTION
PO Box 386, Broadway, NSW 2007 Ph: 02 9281 5100 Fx :02 9281 5303
[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.justiceaction.org.au
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