I haven’t blogged lately, rather choosing to sit back and watch the circus unfold shall we say.
Previously I have been a very strong advocate against the current correctional system that this country has and when I saw news headlines the other day where are an inmate had died it only reiterated what I have been saying for a long time. My thoughts go out to the whanau of the deceased.
The question I have is when are our politicians going to listen to solid advice and do the right thing instead of taking advice from people who simply know nothing.
As CEO of Social Justice Aotearoa I am absolutely disgusted that three people have been brutally murdered in our prisons in the last four years, but still nothing changes.
Blake Lee was brutally stabbed to death in Paremoremo having only been transferred to that prison two hours prior to his death and this event was followed closely by the brutal beating and murder of Bradley King at Linton prison in February of 2021 and now in June of this year we hear of another inmate brutally beaten to death in Mount Eden prison.
I have chosen to speak out on this matter because this must be the last death that we see in a corrections facility in Aotearoa. Double bunking must stop immediately because clearly two of the last three deaths in our corrections facilities can be attributed to double bunking.
My position is very clear, not one person deserves to go to prison to die, something I will advocate for for the rest of my life.
I will be writing to the minister of Corrections this week and I will seek to meet with him before Christmas because he is the minister, and he is responsible for what happens in our prisons and I will hold him and this government to account.
Jackie Foster is CEO of Social Justice Aotearoa