The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is devastated to learn of yet another Aboriginal death in custody, this time, a 30-year-old man found unresponsive at Hakea Prison in Western Australia.
This marks the 25th Aboriginal person killed in custody this year alone. There have been 77 deaths in custody across the country, with Aboriginal people continuing to be killed at vastly disproportionate rates.
‘These are not numbers, they are lives, families, communities, and future stolen by the carceral state,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘And yet, the silence from governments and much of the public is deafening. Why does society not even blink when the killing machine that is the prison keeps killing?’ said Debbie Kilroy. ‘The overwhelming silence on Blak deaths in custody speaks volumes about who this country sees as deserving of life, and who it does not,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
Since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, more than 610 Aboriginal people have died behind bars. Decades of recommendations have been ignored, underfunded, or abandoned. Meanwhile, the state continues to expand its capacity to cage and disappear Aboriginal people.
Just months ago, the WA Government announced plans for a new “Supermax” unit at Casuarina Prison, part of a 344-bed expansion.
‘This investment in punishment over care tells us everything we need to know. WA does not need more prisons, more cells, or more beds. It needs to invest in its people and communities: in housing, health, healing, and self-determination,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘We are seeing a wave of so-called “law and order” regimes sweep across every state and territory. These punitive policies fill cells, not gaps in care. They fuel racial injustice, not community safety. And as incarceration rates rise, we will continue to see more Aboriginal deaths in custody,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Prisons do not keep us safe, they destroy lives. Every death in custody is a state-sanctioned death. Every ignored recommendation, every expansion, every silence, is complicity,’ said Tabitha Lean.
The National Network join the calls of community leaders like Megan Krakouer and organisations across the country demanding immediate action:
- Fully fund and implement all outstanding Royal Commission recommendations.
- Resource the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme 24/7 with community-controlled governance.
- End the construction and expansion of prisons and so-called “supermax” facilities.
- Redirect resources toward community-led services.
‘This is not just a tragedy, it is a national disgrace. Aboriginal people are dying while governments build more cages. Enough,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226
