Awful pain: Aboriginal woman dies in custody in WA

A 41-year-old Aboriginal woman has died in custody after what prison authorities described as a ‘medical event’ at a Perth jail.

Wandoo prison in Perth’s southeast.

A 41-year-old Aboriginal woman has died in custody after what prison authorities described as a “medical event” at a Perth jail dedicated to the rehabilitation of women addicted to alcohol and other drugs.

Senior Aboriginal man Sandy Davies, a relative of the Yamatji woman from the midwest region north of Perth, said she had suffered headaches in jail and cried “on the phone to her partner, telling him the pain was unbearable but no-one would listen”.

“This beautiful lady finally fell into a coma and was taken to hospital where early in the evening on Christmas Eve her partner and her children turned her machine off because there was nothing that could be done by doctors to save her,” Mr Davies wrote on Facebook.

A media statement from the Department of Justice confirmed the woman died on December 24 at Fiona Stanley Hospital, the state’s largest public hospital.

She had been on life support since suffering a medical event at the prison on December 21, according to the department.

Department of Justice staff facilitated and supported family members to spend time with their loved one at the hospital until she passed away, according to a media statement.

“I wish to offer my condolences to the family at this difficult time,” Commissioner for Corrective Services Mike Reynolds said.

“I trust they took some comfort in being able to say their goodbyes,” he added.

The Australian has been told that the woman had suffered from poor health at Wandoo prison in Perth’s southeast since at least June.

“During the emergency at Wandoo prison, officers and medical staff provided the woman first aid before an ambulance arrived,” the Justice Department said in a media release on Tuesday.

“Preliminary reports indicate there were no suspicious circumstances,” it added.

“As with all deaths in custody, police will provide a report to the Coroner.”

The Australian asked the department to comment on claims the woman did not receive appropriate medical treatment in the weeks or months before she became gravely ill.

The rate of deaths in custody in Australia has decreased overall during the past 23 years but in 2021-22 there was an increase.

In prisons, there were 84 deaths – 18 more than in 2020-21 – and the death rate also increased from 0.15 per 100 prisoners in 2020–21 to 0.21 per 100 prisoners in 2021–22.

There were no deaths in youth detention reported during the year.

The Australian Institute of Criminology’s most recent report on deaths in custody found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprised 3 per cent of the Australian population but made up 32 per cent of the average daily Australian prisoner population in the June quarter of 2022.

There were 16 Indigenous deaths in prison custody in 2021-22, accounting for 19 per cent of deaths in prison custody during the 12-month period.