Latest news with #DepartmentOfCorrections
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Death of prisoner at Mt Eden Corrections Facility treated as homicide
Mt Eden Corrections Facility. Photo: RNZ Multiple investigations have been launched after a man died at Mt Eden Corrections Facility in Auckland. Police said they were made aware of the death at about 4pm on Friday after an 'incident' at the prison. Detective Inspector Greg Brand told RNZ the death of the man was being treated as a homicide. Do you know more? Email "Police were made aware at about 4pm yesterday of a man who had died at the prison following an incident," he said. "Officers continue to follow positive lines of inquiry." Mt Eden Corrections Facility is the main prison for newly remanded prisoners in the Auckland region. The Department of Corrections said the man's next of kin has been notified and all evidence will be given to the police. "Corrections will also carry out a full investigation," Mt Eden Corrections Facility general manager Dion Paki said. "As the prisoner was in a double-bunked cell, the second prisoner who was residing in the cell has been moved to a single-cell." Paki said Corrections was expressing "sincere condolences" to everyone affected. "We acknowledge this will be distressing for staff and other prisoners in the unit and we are providing people with support," he said. Paki said this included access to chaplains and any cultural support. The Inspectorate Office for the department, which operates independently, would also be investigating the death. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Prisoner dies at Mt Eden Corrections Facility
Mt Eden Corrections Facility. Photo: RNZ Multiple investigations have been launched after a man died at Mt Eden Corrections Facility in Auckland. Police said they were made aware of the death at about 4pm on Friday after an 'incident' at the prison. Detective Inspector Greg Brand told RNZ that police were looking into the circumstances of the death, and there are positive lines of enquiry. Do you know more? Email Mt Eden Corrections Facility is main prison for newly remanded prisoners in the Auckland region. The Department of Corrections said the man's next of kin has been notified and all evidence will be given to the police. "Corrections will also carry out a full investigation," Mt Eden Corrections Facility general manager Dion Paki said. "As the prisoner was in a double-bunked cell, the second prisoner who was residing in the cell has been moved to a single-cell." Paki said Corrections was expressing "sincere condolences" to everyone affected. "We acknowledge this will be distressing for staff and other prisoners in the unit and we are providing people with support," he said. Paki said this included access to chaplains and any cultural support. The Inspectorate Office for the department, which operates independently, would also be investigating the death. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Top US court takes case of Rastafarian whose hair was cut in prison
The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of a devout Rastafarian whose knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly cut while he was in prison in the southern state of Louisiana. Advertisement Damon Landor is seeking permission to sue individual officials of the Louisiana Department of Corrections for monetary damages for violating his religious rights. Landor, who had been growing his hair for nearly two decades, was serving the final three weeks of a five-month sentence for drug possession in 2020 when his hair was cut. Landor presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs. A prison guard threw the document away and Landor was handcuffed to a chair and had his head shaved, according to court records. Advertisement An appeal court condemned Landor's 'egregious' treatment but ruled that he is not eligible to sue individual prison officials for damages.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- CTV News
Former police chief known as the ‘Devil in the Ozarks' pleads not guilty to a prison escape charge
Images released by the Arkansas Department of Corrections show the recapture of Grant Hardin, an ex-police chief and convicted killer, in Calico Rock, Ark., on June 6, 2025. (Arkansas Department of Corrections via AP) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A convicted murderer and former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge stemming from his recent escape from an Arkansas prison. Grant Hardin, who was captured June 6, appeared at the hearing via video. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree escape, was found to be indigent and was appointed a public defender. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) northwest of the Calico Rock prison from which he escaped on May 25. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. After his capture, Hardin was transferred to a maximum security prison in Varner, a small community about 65 miles (124 kilometres) southeast of Little Rock. A jury trial was set for the week of Nov. 5, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for Oct. 21. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' A spokesperson said Hardin's escape remains under investigation. Legislators also plan to review it.
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Lockdowns occurring 'all of the time' at every NT prison, corrections boss tells budget estimates
The Northern Territory corrections commissioner says lockdowns are occurring "all of the time" at every NT prison, as inmate numbers continue to soar. More than 1 per cent of the Northern Territory's population is incarcerated, with Department of Corrections (DOC) figures showing 2,834 people were behind bars as of Thursday. Half of the people in jail are on remand, with the total prison population rising by 600 since the Country Liberal Party (CLP) was elected last August. Due to the rising prisoner numbers and staff shortages, lockdowns have been frequently implemented by the DOC. Responding to a question at budget estimates in NT parliament on Thursday, Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said he could not provide a specific figure on the number of lockdowns at adult prisons since September. Instead, he said there were "lockdowns across all of the facilities all of the time". "[The number of lockdowns has] been substantial in the last number of months because of the rate of prisoner growth and the stretch that we have experienced," Commissioner Varley said. Commissioner Varley said it was difficult for the DOC to provide specific lockdown data, because they occurred "in a range of scenarios". "From a cell or block or wing being locked down, to entire facilities," he said. "It is relatively rare for a lockdown of an entire facility to occur because of the nature of staff shortages. "What is more likely to occur is that the entire facility is locked down for short periods of time, depending on operational events. "But [it is] more likely that various parts of the prison, various wings and cells are locked down … what we call rolling unlocks, which are staged locks and unlocks throughout the day." During the budget estimates session, the DOC did provide data on lockdowns in youth detention facilities. Acting Deputy Commissioner Sasha Dennis said there were 25 "rotational lockdowns" between July 2024 and the end of March this year. "They are due to operational requirements, such as low staffing or high levels of escorts, including court, medical, and leave of absences — requiring transport of young people outside of the facility," she said. There were 55 youths in detention on Thursday, according to the DOC. The territory's three adult jails and two work camps cannot accommodate the entire prison population. Prisoners who cannot fit into those facilities are being held in police watch houses, where DOC staff have not been present since March. During budget estimates, Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said there were 70 prisoners in police watch houses as of Thursday. Of the 70 prisoners, 51 were being held at Palmerston watch house, 10 at Katherine watch house and nine at the watch house in Alice Springs. Mr Maley said 20 prisoners at the Palmerston watch house had been held there for more than a week, with one prisoner's stint stretching to 14 days as of Thursday. While in a watch house, prisoners do not leave their cell and lights remain on 24 hours a day, Mr Maley confirmed. In February, the NT government passed legislation allowing it to hire private and interstate guards to work in the corrections system. The government subsequently contracted private security firm G4S to manage prisoner transfers in Darwin, in a bid to boost the overall workforce and reduce overtime payments. During budget estimates, Commissioner Varley said the overtime bill "for custodial operations" between July 2024 and the end of March this year reached $19.23 million, for 266,000 extra hours worked. "That's an average of 355 hours per prisoner," he said. "By the time we get to June 30, we'll probably end up with an overtime bill similar to what we did last year."
