Grim update after South Australian maximum security prisoner chewed off own finger

News.com.au

2 days ago

WARNING: Confronting details including self-harm
A South Australian maximum security inmate has attempted to take his life behind bars less than a fortnight after it was revealed that he chewed off his own finger.
Robert William Junior Barnes, 39, has spent more than 700 days isolated in G Division at Yatala Labour Prison — a place described by a former inmate as 'hell on earth'.
News.com.au exclusively revealed earlier this month that Barnes 'chewed off his pinky finger down to the knuckle'.
The story cited two people who had spent time with Barnes in prison recently; Aboriginal elder Uncle Moogy Sumner and former Aboriginal Liaison Officer with SA Corrections Melanie Turner.
Uncle Moogy told news.com.au 'he chewed it right off'.
The story led to a protest outside Yatala Labour Prison on Tuesday this week where advocates warned the status quo would lead to another Aboriginal death in custody.
A text message sent by Barnes' sister on Tuesday this week, seen by news.com.au, reveals the Aboriginal inmate attempted suicide for what is reportedly at least the third time.
'Just got off the phone to Robbie and he cut into himself again,' Barnes' sister wrote to Ms Turner.
'He's being tormented (by) those correctional offices (sic). Robbie just said to me he needs to find something sharper, he doesn't wanna be in this world anymore.
'I tried to tell him to hang in there ... but my heart is just breaking.'
The South Australian Department of Corrections is preventing Ms Turner and Uncle Moogy from visiting Barnes in G Division.
Ms Turner resigned from her position after being prevented from visiting Barnes. In a letter to Corrections CEO David Brown, she wrote: 'I emailed my manager to request permission to enter G Division to meet with this prisoner, with whom I have established a good rapport, but I was denied.'
'This poor individual believes that (I have) abandoned him,' she wrote.
Uncle Moogy told news.com.au Barnes 'is in a bad way mentally' and was benefitting from his visits.
'He's got a lot of problems. If you're in jail, you're not there for being an angel,' Uncle Moogy said.
'But he's got problems because of how he was getting treated.
'I went up there to talk about culture, where he's from, the traditional ways. And I found out he's connected to my way, too,' he said.
'It was working out well. He enjoyed me going there, talking to him once a week. We're both connected to the Adnyamathanha people from the Flinders Ranges.'
He was worried what Barnes would do after he stopped visiting. This week's suicide attempt has worried him further.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told news.com.au on that Uncle Moogy 'is not banned from DCS sites, including Yatala Labour Prison'.
But news.com.au understands that does not include G Division where inmates are kept in solitary confinement.
'The Department continues to provide cultural and mental health support to identified prisoners in need across the system including at Yatala Labour Prison,' the spokesperson said.
'An offer to visit Yatala Labour Prison next week and meet with the Aboriginal Cultural Treatment Unit team, who support prisoners placed in the maximum-security unit, has also been extended to Major Sumner.
'The Department values the contribution Elders make to our prisons, including site visits. The safety of any visitor along with staff and prisoners is paramount when considering access, particularly to the state's high security prisons.'
During a protest outside Yatala on Tuesday, advocates called for an end to 'human rights abuse' inside.
'Robert Barnes is being subjected to cruel and inhumane punishment, spending almost 800 days in solitary confinement,' a speaker said.
'Aboriginal prisoners are being denied cultural support when housed in solitary confinement.'
They called for the General Manager of Yatala, Kit Wong, to 'be stood down immediately'.
The crime that landed Barnes behind bars at G Division was a violent one that involved throwing a cup of urine in the face of a prison officer at Port Augusta prison in 2021.
The Adelaide Advertiser reported last year that Barnes was jailed for over a decade after a brawl that left his victim in hospital suffering a fractured eye socket and requiring surgery.
Less than a month while at the Adelaide Remand Centre, Barnes attempted to bite off his own finger before a corrections officer pinned his arms.
Barnes punched him to the left side of his body and ear, causing it to bleed and yelled 'I'm going to f***ing bite your ear off'.
He reportedly used a metal pipe from a vacuum cleaner to hit an officer over the head three times.