Indigenous inmate’s death at Hakea Prison prompts outrage with advocates saying warnings were ignored

A young Aboriginal man who died in custody at Hakea Prison had been transferred to the jail following riots in Acacia and put in solitary confinement as punishment, according to advocates who had warned the government about their fears over prisoner mental health just weeks earlier. The 22-year-old Noongar man was found unresponsive by corrective services officers inside his maximum-security jail cell at 7.20pm on Friday. Medical staff and prison officers had attempted to resuscitate him and provide first aid before paramedics transported him to hospital. His death is being treated as non-suspicious. The man’s death is believed to be the fifth Indigenous death in Australian custody since the start of this year. Ngalla Maya Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Mervyn Eades said the man had recently been transferred from Acacia following riots at that jail and placed in the solitary confinement unit as punishment. Mr Eades said he was devastated by the death particularly because he sent a text message to Corrective Services Commissioner Mike Reynolds and his deputies just two weeks ago over concerns about the mental health of young Aboriginal prisoners. “I raise to you the high risk factor to potential risk of suicide we are aware of the increase of self harms since the riot and lockdown,” he wrote in the message. “We understand the psychological and mental health well being of many of the young Aboriginal detainees are at a low at present and we wish to be able to access the facility to speak to them to help reduce risk.” Mr Eades said the Commissioner had not replied to his message. He was also angry that a suicide prevention taskforce set up by Justice in August 2020, of which he is a member, had not met in six months. “I‘m actually shattered and I feel like I’ve let them down...because I’ve seen it coming. I’ve seen it coming two weeks ago but nobody listened,” he said. In response to Mr Eades’ claims the Justice Department said: “A working group, which report to the Steering Committee, is progressing a number of actions and will report back to the Committee on the outcomes”. National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project’s Megan Krakouer, who also sits on the taskforce, said Justice had ignored their warnings about prisoners self-harming. “They fall upon deaf ears. So now we have a 22-year-old boy that will never be an elder, that will never have grandchildren because he’s been taken too soon,” she said. “The disconnect from the department is the worst it’s ever been. I feel so hurt for the family because the system, the leadership have failed again.” Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeill said the deaths in custody of at least 11 Indigenous people in 2021 showed “it’s clear that this is a national crisis”. She said Human Rights Watch had found “inadequate mental health support and a clear lack of culturally appropriate mental health support for Indigenous prisoners” in WA. In accordance with all deaths in custody, the WA Police Force will investigate and prepare a report for the state coroner. Asked about why the suicide prevention taskforce had not met in six months, a Justice spokesperson said: “A working group, which report to the Steering Committee, is progressing a number of actions and will report back to the Committee on the outcomes.” Lifeline: 13 11 14 Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636