Latest news with #solitaryconfinement
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
Shocking new claims about lockdowns, suicide attempts and ‘green water' at Melbourne prison
Ashleigh Chapman is pacing back and forth inside her tiny cell in the solitary confinement division at Melbourne's maximum security women's prison. She is almost six feet tall and her long legs take seven steps to reach the concrete wall on one side before she turns 180 degrees and paces back towards the other wall. The monotony of daily life in 'the slot' at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is not her only problem. The water for showering, brushing her teeth and filling her water bottle are turning the sink and the shower floor green. When she boils it inside the glass kettle inside her cell, the walls of the kettle turn black, she says. 'You couldn't see inside the kettle at all,' Chapman tells Her weight has dropped from 80kg to 50kg behind bars, because something is 'making me sick'. She skips meals routinely when prison officers ignore her allergies and serve her food that could cause anaphylactic shock. Cereal for dinner, or nothing at all, is a regular theme. She listens out for the jangling of keys. It's part of what she refers to as the 'psychological torment and torture' that comes with being locked inside her cell for 23 hours a day — or 24 if she gets unlucky. Her tiny, daily taste of freedom comes in the form of a 20-minute visit to the airing yard or a trip to the empty loungeroom void of a single other human being and where the TV remote is broken. Chapman, who left the facility in Melbourne's north in May after four years behind bars, says there were numerous days where she spent 24 hours in her cell. On other days, she would be let out only to be told immediately to re-enter her cell. 'They literally unlocked my door. As soon as I stepped out they said, 'sorry, we need to lock you back in'. I said, 'why?' and they said, 'doesn't matter, go back in'.' Chapman speaks almost daily with three inmates still inside. She says they are 'constantly reporting' lockdowns that mean inmates are having their basic human rights taken away. It's leading to huge numbers of self-harm incidents and suicide attempts, she says. A 'code black', which is a medical event, happens 'nearly every day'. 'Whether or not that would be almost passing away, self harm is rampant,' Chapman says. 'The amount of times that medical would be called for a code black is unbelievable.' 'She did it quietly in her cell' Kelly Flanagan left the prison in March this year after spending two years in the Murray Unit — which is not for inmates in solitary confinement. In diary notes shared with she reveals that lockdowns — usually reserved for riots or security breaches — have been occuring almost daily because of staff shortages. The result — seven suicide attempts in a single month. 'Just before I got out, the women at DPFC including me were being locked down as much as 60 per cent of the time,' Flanagan says. 'In the last month that I was in prison there were seven women who tried to commit suicide. Five of those were Indigenous women. Two near fatal attempts. The community does not know how bad it is there at the moment.' Her diary notes show that in February this year there were lockdowns on February 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24 and 27. Flanagan has compiled a spreadsheet of every lockdown at DPFC between January 2024 and May 2025. The data has come from prisoners, lawyers and other prison sources, she says. It shows the Gordon Unit, where Chapman was in solitary confinement, had 14 all day lockdowns between March and May this year. The reason for those lockdowns was 'no staff'. 'On March 13, I was living two cells down from a woman who tried to kill herself,' Flanagan tells 'This particular woman couldn't handle the lockdowns anymore. She expressed this to us and the officers on many occasions. She voiced it every day. 'She really couldn't handle being alone anymore. She tried to end her life by cutting her wrist and letting herself bleed out. She did it quietly in her cell, door shut and nobody knew anything. 'She almost passed away by the time we found her. My heart is breaking for her. I want to cry for her. No one should ever feel this isolated.' Victoria's Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan addressed the concerns around lockdowns during Question Time on May 28. 'This issue has been going on for a number of months now, I must admit that as minister I have been quite frustrated, too, understanding that staff there are very passionate about making a difference,' he said. 'Lockdowns are sometimes required in our prison system. It is necessary to maintain the safety and security of prisoner and staff. We do expect them to be kept to a minimum.' has reached out to the Department of Corrections for comment. A spokesperson said: 'We take the safety of staff and prisoners very seriously in our corrections system.' 'During a lockdown prisoners continue to have access to meals, healthcare, rehabilitation programs and legal services. 'We are continuing to recruit hundreds of new corrections staff, with a squad of new recruits starting training at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in this month and due to graduate in September.' Corrections claims there have been no reports of green water coming from any taps at DPFC. 'Overcrowded, understaffed and unsafe' Shadow Corrections Minister David Southwick told Victoria's prisons are 'now in chaos and are overcrowded, understaffed, and unsafe'. 'Locking up women in their cells for days on end not because they've done anything wrong, but because the system can't find enough staff is unacceptable, unsafe, and no way to run a prison,' he said. 'This is not new. I raised serious concerns earlier this year, and since then I've continued to hear disturbing stories from inside Dame Phyllis Frost Centre; women missing medical care, family visits cancelled, and severe mental health impacts. It's not justice. It's neglect. 'Corrections officers are at breaking point. They tell me morale is at rock bottom. Staff don't feel safe, they don't feel supported, and they're leaving the system in droves. That's only making the crisis worse because the fewer officers we have, the more lockdowns we'll see.'
CBC
19-07-2025
- CBC
Settlement proposed in class-action lawsuit over B.C. solitary confinement
A proposed settlement of up to $60 million has been reached in a class-action lawsuit related to the use of solitary confinement in B.C. correctional facilities. The Quebec-based law firm Proactio says the settlement still needs to be approved by the B.C. Supreme Court, but could provide eligible class members up to $91,000. A statement from the firm on Saturday said the lawsuit alleges the B.C. government improperly subjected prisoners to solitary confinement, "causing emotional, physical, and psychological harm." It further states that the province "denies liability but has opted to resolve the class action without a trial." The class includes people incarcerated after April 18, 2005, and involuntarily held in separate confinement or segregation for at least 15 consecutive days, or when the province knew or ought to have known they suffered from a mental illness. The allegations in the statement of claim have not been tested in court and B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A hearing to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement has been set for Oct. 22 and Proactio said class members have until Sept. 2 to indicate if they support or object to the proposal. Those put in separate confinement after Dec. 22, 2020, can opt out by Sept. 2, in which case they would not receive compensation but would retain their right to pursue an individual lawsuit. The firm said class members can also submit a claim for compensation at a later date if the court approves the settlement. The court has appointed Koskie Minsky LLP and McEwan Partners LLP as class council, while Proactio has been mandated to act as administrator of the class action, the statement added.
CTV News
19-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Settlement proposed in class-action lawsuit over B.C. solitary confinement
The Alouette Correctional Centre for Women is seen in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Monday, December 10, 2018. The law firm Proactio says a proposed settlement of up to $60 million has been reached in a class-action lawsuit related to the use of solitary confinement in British Columbia correctional facilities. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press) A proposed settlement of up to $60 million has been reached in a class-action lawsuit related to the use of solitary confinement in B.C. correctional facilities. The Quebec-based law firm Proactio says the settlement must be approved by the B.C. Supreme Court, but could provide eligible class members up to $91,000. A statement from the firm on Saturday says the lawsuit alleges the B.C. government improperly subjected prisoners to solitary confinement, 'causing emotional, physical, and psychological harm.' It says the class includes people incarcerated after April 18, 2005, and involuntarily held in separate confinement or segregation for at least 15 consecutive days, or when the province knew or ought to have known they suffered from a mental illness. The allegations in the statement of claim had not been tested in court and B.C.'s Ministry of Attorney General did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A hearing to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement has been set for Oct. 22 and Proactio says class members have until Sept. 2 to indicate if they support or object to the proposal. Those put in separate confinement after Dec. 22, 2020, can opt out by Sept. 2, in which case they would not receive compensation but would retain their right to pursue an individual lawsuit. The firm says class members can also submit a claim for compensation at a later date if the court approves the settlement. The court has appointed Koskie Minsky LLP and McEwan Partners LLP as class council, while Proactio has been mandated to act as administrator of the class action, the statement adds. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025.
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Migrants deported by the US to Eswatini being held in solitary confinement
Five migrants deported by the US to the small southern African country of Eswatini, under the Trump administration's third-country program, will be held in solitary confinement for an undetermined time, an Eswatini government spokesperson says. Thabile Mdluli, the spokesperson, declined to identify the correctional facility or facilities where the five men are held, citing security concerns. She told the Associated Press that Eswatini planned to ultimately repatriate the five to their home countries with the help of a UN agency. Mdluli said it wasn't clear how long that would take. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – the UN agency tasked with ensuring migration is managed in a way that respects human rights – said on Thursday it was not involved in the removal of the migrants from the US and has not been contacted to help send them back home. 'As always, IOM stands ready to support Member States, upon request and where operationally feasible, in line with its humanitarian mandate,' an official from the organisation told Reuters. The men, who the US says were convicted of serious crimes and were in the US illegally, are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos. Their convictions included murder and child rape, according to the US Department of Homeland Security said. US officials also said the men's home countries would not take them back. Local media reported the men are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, outside the country's administrative capital of Mbabane, which includes Eswatini's top maximum-security prison. Their deportations were announced by the department on Tuesday and mark the continuation of president Donald Trump's plan to send deportees to third countries they have no ties with after it was stalled by a legal challenge in the US. The US state department's most recent human rights report on Eswatini – an absolute monarchy – pointed to 'credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government'. There were credible reports that some political prisoners were tortured in detention, according to the state department. Prison conditions overall varied, though facilities were plagued with overcrowding, disrepair, poor nutrition and ventilation and unchecked prisoner-on-prisoner violence. The Trump administration has been seeking to make deals with countries across the globe to accept immigrants that the US cannot easily deport to their home countries. Though other administrations have conducted third-country removals, the Trump administration's practice of sending immigrants to countries facing political and human rights crises have raised international alarm and condemnation. Earlier this month the US completed deportation of eight other immigrants to South Sudan – a country beset with political instability and a hunger crisis. Prior to landing in South Sudan, the deportees were diverted to a US military based base in Djibouti, where they had been held in a converted shipping container for weeks. More than 200 Venezuelan men that the Trump administration deported to El Salvador – most of whom had no criminal histories in the US – also remain incarcerated in the country's notorious mega-prison Cecot, where detainees have reported facing torture. There have been no details on why Eswatini agreed to take the men, and Mdluli, the government spokesperson, said 'the terms of the agreement between the US and Eswatini remain classified'. Eswatini has said it was the result of months of negotiations between the two governments. South Sudan has also given no details of its agreement with the US to take deportees and has declined to say where the eight men sent there are being held. Last week Tom Homan, the US border tsar, said he did not know what has happened to the eight men deported to South Sudan. With the Associated Press and Reuters
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Migrants deported by the US to Eswatini being held in solitary confinement
Five migrants deported by the US to the small southern African country of Eswatini, under the Trump administration's third-country program, will be held in solitary confinement for an undetermined time, an Eswatini government spokesperson says. Thabile Mdluli, the spokesperson, declined to identify the correctional facility or facilities where the five men are held, citing security concerns. She told the Associated Press that Eswatini planned to ultimately repatriate the five to their home countries with the help of a UN agency. Mdluli said it wasn't clear how long that would take. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – the UN agency tasked with ensuring migration is managed in a way that respects human rights – said on Thursday it was not involved in the removal of the migrants from the US and has not been contacted to help send them back home. 'As always, IOM stands ready to support Member States, upon request and where operationally feasible, in line with its humanitarian mandate,' an official from the organisation told Reuters. The men, who the US says were convicted of serious crimes and were in the US illegally, are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos. Their convictions included murder and child rape, according to the US Department of Homeland Security said. US officials also said the men's home countries would not take them back. Local media reported the men are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, outside the country's administrative capital of Mbabane, which includes Eswatini's top maximum-security prison. Their deportations were announced by the department on Tuesday and mark the continuation of president Donald Trump's plan to send deportees to third countries they have no ties with after it was stalled by a legal challenge in the US. The US state department's most recent human rights report on Eswatini – an absolute monarchy – pointed to 'credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government'. There were credible reports that some political prisoners were tortured in detention, according to the state department. Prison conditions overall varied, though facilities were plagued with overcrowding, disrepair, poor nutrition and ventilation and unchecked prisoner-on-prisoner violence. The Trump administration has been seeking to make deals with countries across the globe to accept immigrants that the US cannot easily deport to their home countries. Though other administrations have conducted third-country removals, the Trump administration's practice of sending immigrants to countries facing political and human rights crises have raised international alarm and condemnation. Earlier this month the US completed deportation of eight other immigrants to South Sudan – a country beset with political instability and a hunger crisis. Prior to landing in South Sudan, the deportees were diverted to a US military based base in Djibouti, where they had been held in a converted shipping container for weeks. More than 200 Venezuelan men that the Trump administration deported to El Salvador – most of whom had no criminal histories in the US – also remain incarcerated in the country's notorious mega-prison Cecot, where detainees have reported facing torture. There have been no details on why Eswatini agreed to take the men, and Mdluli, the government spokesperson, said 'the terms of the agreement between the US and Eswatini remain classified'. Eswatini has said it was the result of months of negotiations between the two governments. South Sudan has also given no details of its agreement with the US to take deportees and has declined to say where the eight men sent there are being held. Last week Tom Homan, the US border tsar, said he did not know what has happened to the eight men deported to South Sudan. With the Associated Press and Reuters
