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Prisons

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PhD Candidate Damien Linnane having lunch with Angus Thomson at Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore in Paddington. Saturday 2 November 2024. Photo: Dylan Coker / The Sydney Morning Herald

He’s been an arsonist and artist, now he’s on a mission to change lives

Damien Linnane’s 10-month stay in prison led him on a journey to overhaul an outdated healthcare system. Only one thing stands in the way.

  • Angus Thomson

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Composite image of Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists president Elizabeth Moore.

Judges, doctors warn of ‘unacceptable risk’ to public safety

Doctors are deeply concerned for their severely mentally ill patients and the public, as Sydney courts brace for the impact on the criminal justice system.

  • Kate Aubusson and Angus Thomson
Accommodation cells in the Boys’ unit at the Cairns watch-house taken from the ‘Cairns and Murgon watch‑houses inspection report’ delivered September, 2024.

Queensland’s tough youth crime agenda slammed in human rights report

Significant concerns are held for children in contact with Australia’s youth justice system, including those held in custody in adult facilities in Queensland.

  • Courtney Kruk
A guard walks down a corridor of Regina Coeli prison in Rome.

Italian prisons told to create ‘love rooms’ for sex

The court ruling on sex for prisoners came after an inmate serving time in a prison in the northern city of Asti was denied the right to have sex with his wife.

  • Josephine McKenna
Casuarina Prison, Western Australia.

WA’s notorious Unit 18 should close despite positive changes, review finds

There have been significant improvements in the management of young people in detention, a new review has found – but Unit 18 should still close.

  • Holly Thompson
Cleveland Dodd died after being held in Unit 18. His mother Nadene Dodd wants to ensure change is made. Picture: WAtoday

‘Matter of urgency’: Coroner calls for closure of WA youth prison unit

Coroner Philip Urquhart called for the justice department to be stripped of its role overseeing young people.

  • Aaron Bunch
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During the first leaders’ debate on October 3, then opposition leader David Crisafulli pledged to resign as premier if he could not get crime victim rates down.

Victims support harsher sentencing, but it’s not all they want

The LNP is standing firm on its plan to cement “consequences for actions” and punish young offenders. Will it deliver what victims of violent crime say is missing?

  • Courtney Kruk
George Marrogi

Inside the fall of George Marrogi: Enemies loot millions as jailed gang boss cracks

Rivals have claimed a $10 million victory tax, while tormenting the once-powerful crime kingpin has become an underworld sport. Warning: Distressing content.

  • Chris Vedelago
Cultivating small amounts of cannabis became legal in the ACT in 2020.

As sure as gay marriage, private cannabis use will not be a crime

It won’t happen in this term of the NSW government, but reform is inevitable.

  • Stephen Lawrence
Inspector Eamon Ryan said most prisons were grappling with “massive overcrowding”.

Damning watchdog report finds WA prisons ‘understaffed, overcrowded, breaching human rights standards’

A scathing report by WA’s prisons watchdog has found the state’s prisons are struggling under the weight of understaffing and overcrowding, with increasingly poor conditions that were breaching human rights standards.

  • Jesinta Burton

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/prisons-1m2p