The highest-ranking official at the women’s prison where Indigenous woman Veronica Nelson died told her staff last year that Nelson’s family was searching for “someone to blame” and that public scrutiny of the prison had been sensationalised.
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Nelson was denied bail and was on remand at the time of her death in custody. Victorian coroner Simon McGregor was brought to tears as he handed down his damning findings on Monday and took aim at a litany of failures within the criminal justice, health and corrections systems.Premier Daniel Andrews committed on Tuesday to overhauling the Bail Act within months.
In her email to staff, Jones, then the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre general manager, attacked the coroner’s decision to release unedited audio and video recordings that identified those working at the prison, including prison officers and medical workers from Correct Care Australasia. “We were unaware that the Coroners court would release the actual prison footage and intercom calls to the media. The viewing is particularly disturbing and distressing. The media have painted a very negative picture of the death and staff interactions with Ms Nelson. We sought to get a suppression order to blur staff faces but we lost.
“The dismissive and attitude of the head of the prison is further proof of the callous indifference that the prison is run on, and it certainly makes you wonder whether the management at DPFC is willing to grapple with the findings and recommendations of the coroner,” Waight said. Nelson was arrested on Spencer Street on December 30, 2019, and taken to a nearby police station for questioning on suspicion of shoplifting. But instead of being released on bail, she was transferred to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court where she was placed on remand until a court date weeks later.
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