Prisoner’s Rights

By: Louise Frost

Prisons - 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.

High Court Judge:

Honour Mr Justice

Michael Kirby

All prisoners have the right to:Unlimited visits by legal representativesOne or two other visits per week Ownership of simple possessionsWrite and receive lettersComplain to the OmbudsmanProper care, including food, clothing and

medical care

From: CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ACT 1982

International TreatiesUnited Nations Convention Against Torture

(UNCAT)- Allows prisoners to bring complaints to the Human

Rights Committee or the Committee against tortureInternational 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 hygiene SMRs 15/16

Food and water of adequate quality must be provided

SMR 20

Various medical services must be made available on a regular basis, including outside the institution if necessary

SMRs 22-26

Instruments of restraint may only be used in very limited circumstances and never as a punishment

SMRs 33-34

Prisoners must be informed of the rules of the institution and given an opportunity to make complaint

SMRs 35-36

Contact with the outside world are to be allowed in certain forms, including through communication with family & friends

SMRs 35-36

Prisoners should be allowed to practice their religious beliefs as far as practical

SMR 41-42

Regular inspections of the institution should be carried out by an appropriate authority

SMR 55

General Principles detailed in the SMRs

Problem: disenfranchisement of prisonersThe 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

Problem: conditions in prisonsFour 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

Former Jail inmate, Christopher Binse“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 prisonsConcerns that corporations would ‘cut-

corners’ to maximise profit‘Stop the cell-off campaign’ achieves

awareness of the privatisation issueBelieves 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 CentreCanberra TimesEMILY SHERLOCK02 Mar, 2008

Ethnic ClusteringDividing inmates according to raceIntroduced 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