By: Louise Frost

- Play a vital role in our justice system. They are there to punish people who break the law and then guide them back to society.

“Prisoners are human beings.. they should have the same rights as all other persons. They have lost their liberty whilst they are in prison. However, they have not lost their human dignity or their right to equality before the law.” from Muir v The Queen [2004] HCA 21 at paragraph 25.Muir v The Queen [2004] HCA 21

All prisoners have the right to: Unlimited visits by legal representatives One or two other visits per week Ownership of simple possessions Write and receive letters Complain to the Ombudsman Proper care, including food, clothing and medical care From: CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ACT 1982

International Treaties United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) - Allows prisoners to bring complaints to the Human Rights Committee or the Committee against torture International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - Not to be arbitrarily deprived of life (article 6) - Not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment punishment (article 7) - To liberty and the security of person and not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest of detention (article 9)

Facilities should be provided for personal hygieneSMRs 15/16 Food and water of adequate quality must be providedSMR 20 Various medical services must be made available on a regular basis, including outside the institution if necessary SMRs Instruments of restraint may only be used in very limited circumstances and never as a punishment SMRs Prisoners must be informed of the rules of the institution and given an opportunity to make complaint SMRs Contact with the outside world are to be allowed in certain forms, including through communication with family & friends SMRs Prisoners should be allowed to practice their religious beliefs as far as practical SMR Regular inspections of the institution should be carried out by an appropriate authority SMR 55 General Principles detailed in the SMRs

Problem: disenfranchisement of prisoners The taking away of the ‘right to vote’ The franchise to vote is a ‘duty’ of citizenship and is vital to the participation in a democratic society. Roach case saw the High Court ruling this as unconstitutional Legislation upheld stating that prisoners sentenced for 3 years or more were unable to vote Excluded 8000 citizens, and more than 20% of them (including applicant Vicki Roach) were indigenous Australians

Four Corners: ‘Supermax” 7/11/2005

SUPERMAX - Goulburn Lack of natural light Deprivation of isolation Minimum of 16 hours to a maximum of 22 hours/day spent alone without any natural light SMR 21: that prisoners should experience at least 1 hour of open air DAILY

“You know, it got to a point, literally, where I had enough of it. It was just brain-numbing, you know? Where it was just trying to wear me down, mentally, you know? Just to break me down, to wear me down. At the end of the day, I said, “I’ve had enough”

Problem: Privatisation of prisons Concerns that corporations would ‘cut-corners’ to maximise profit ‘Stop the cell-off campaign’ achieves awareness of the privatisation issue Believes that risks include: higher likelihood of recidivism; increase of assaults; more complaints and a belief that private prisons perform poorly

Inside Canberra's humane prison: - Alexander Maconochie Centre Canberra Times EMILY SHERLOCK 02 Mar, 2008

Ethnic Clustering Dividing inmates according to race Introduced to Goulburn gaol (2001) to make prisoners “easier to control” due to gang violence and the prevention of deaths which were a problem in the 90s. Commander Brian Kelly: “since we did it, there hasn’t been a repeat murder”; “2 or 3 years ago, this was a major problem, but now that is not the case”

“A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens, but by how it treats its criminals." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky