Graphic photos reveal man beaten unconscious in Yalata prison gang attack
New pictures show an inmate’s horror injuries after being beaten unconscious in a violent jail gang attack. Graphic warning.
Graphic photos obtained by The Advertiser show the purported victim after a violent attack by nine other prisoners at Adelaide’s Yatala Labor Prison.
The images reveal severe head wounds, raw, bloodied skin, and swelling.
Emergency services rushed to Yatala Labor Prison, in Northfield, in Adelaide’s north, just after 11.30am on Sunday amid reports of an assault.
Detectives are investigating why nine prisoner’s attacked the fellow inmate, 29, in Yatala’s Mirnu Unit, which houses jail rehabilitation programs.
The prisoner is in hospital.
No charges have been laid.
The gang reportedly set upon him as they punched, elbowed and kicked the victim, who then collapsed unconscious.
Guards tried to intervene but the gang still continued their vicious attack, witnesses said.
The man, who has not been identified, was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he was being assessed.
The latest assault in the state’s prisons come as guards prepare to rally this week amid a new pay row.
Public Service Association general secretary Charlotte Watson, who represents prison guards, said the attack was the latest in a “string of violent incidents that highlight a prison system on the brink”.
She warned that “chronic under-resourcing, dangerously low pay and collapsing morale have left the system at breaking point”.
She said last week a correctional officer was hospitalised after an Adelaide Women’s Prison attack.
“When prisons are chronically understaffed, officers exhausted, and morale on the floor, violence becomes inevitable. Our members are paying the price for government neglect,” she said.
Prison guards will this week rally in a new pay row.
A Corrections Department spokeswoman said the attack was being investigated.
“The department can confirm there was an assault at Yatala Labour Prison,” she said.
“One prisoner has been taken to hospital. The matter has been reported to (police) for investigation.”
An SA Police spokeswoman referred inquiries to Corrections.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher said all prison incidents were thoroughly investigated and perpetrators held to account.
A government spokesman said authorities were “continuing to bargain in good faith with the PSA on the enterprise agreement and has offered real wage increases to correctional officers”.
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Originally published as Graphic photos reveal man beaten unconscious in Yalata prison gang attack
