Human Rights Commission inquiry into death

Human Rights Commission inquiry into death

An Aboriginal death in Alice Springs in March has attracted the attention of the Human Rights Commission.

It is the first coronial investigation into a case of this kind in which the HRC has sought to intervene. The Northern Territory government opposed the intervention.

On March 27, a 16-year-old Aborigine, affected by alcohol, hanged himself with his jumper. Despite surveillance of the cell from two cameras, he was not noticed for 40 minutes. He died in hospital the next day.

The November 9 Sydney Morning Herald quoted the counsel for the man's family as saying that the case raised questions about the police practice of picking up alcohol-affected people and putting them in "protective custody".

According to a submission from the counsel assisting the coroner, the coroner could consider "a possible lack of understanding and implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody" as a contributing factor to the death.

From GLW issue 341