Safeguarding the vulnerable in custody

2009 saw two deeply disturbing coronial decisions about the deaths of persons in custody in different parts of Australia. Coroner Jamieson in Victoria made telling criticisms of the quality of medical care provided to a prisoner at Port Phillip Prison who died because he was unable to summon help when the intercom system in his cell failed while he was dying of an asthma attack. State Coroner Hope in Western Australia castigated government and private facilities that played a role in causing the death by heatstroke of an indigenous man who was transported in appalling conditions to Kalgoorlie. The facts of each death raise fundamental questions about the quality of care provided to those in custody in contemporary Australia and about cultures of inadequate respect for the human rights of those in confinement. The development of a rights consciousness throughout the custodial community by charters of rights and freedoms may play a role in engendering greater respect for the imprisoned. The strengthening of coronial legislation to mandate accessibility to coronial decisions and responsiveness to them on the part of entities the subject of recommendations for improved health and safety may also play a constructive role in adding to the checks and balances against abuses of the rights of prisoners to life, humane treatment and receipt of adequate health services.