Inmate Dies After Release Date Botched
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday April 12, 2003
The State Government has launched a review of the state's Parole Board operations following revelations that a 23-year-old man died in custody nearly three weeks after he should have been released.
The Justice Minister, John Hatzistergos , made the announcement yesterday, describing the mistake as an appalling tragedy. However, he refused to release any further details about the man's death until a coronial inquest had been held.
The Aboriginal man, who Mr Hatzistergos would not name for cultural reasons, died at the John Morony Correctional Centre at Windsor on January 22 18 days after he should have been released. The mistake has been blamed on a miscalculation by the Parole Board's secretariat, which had recorded the man's release date as April 10.
The discrepancy was caused by staff not taking into account three months he had served between April and August last year. The man, convicted of driving offences and theft, had been on a six-month periodic detention order which was cancelled because of non-compliance.
The tragic sequence of events was compounded by several attempts to allow the man to serve his time outside prison.
``This is completely unacceptable. This is an appalling tragedy," Mr Hatzistergos said. ``Due to an administrative error made by the Parole Board Secretariat staff in August 2002, the balance of the inmate's sentence was miscalculated. In calculating the sentence, the three months he previously served in custody was not taken into account."
Mr Hatzistergos said he was not aware of any complaint by the prisoner about his release date. His family, who were told of his death in January, did not know about the mix-up until this week.
The family, who live in Sydney, were visited yesterday by the Commissioner of Corrective Services , Ron Woodham , to explain the sentencing error and convey the department's sympathy.
Mr Hatzistergos said there had been three other sentence miscalculations this year, but insisted they should be viewed ``in the context of 37,000 prisoner movements a year".
He would not reveal what action would be taken against the staff held responsible for the error, but said one had already left the department.
He had appointed the former chairman of the Corrective Services Commission, Vern Dalton , to conduct a wide-ranging review of Parole Board operations. The review would include the accuracy of release dates for all inmates, the system which ensured their release on time, and any reforms needed to reduce the rate of error.
He had also ordered new procedures for determining release dates, including that they be overseen by a judicial member of the board, rather than administrative staff.
``Although this death in custody is still the subject of a coronial inquest, as all deaths in custody are, I am certain from the departmental investigation that this inmate should not have been in custody when he died," he said.
``The Department of Corrective Services and the State Government offer a full and open apology to the family of the inmate and I offer my deepest condolences."
Mr Hatzistergos, who was appointed last week, said the family was considering its legal options for compensation.
© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald