More deaths in custody

By Pip Hinman SYDNEY — On February 13, Maurice Marsland was stabbed to death at Goulburn jail. This is the second stabbing death at Goulburn in three months. Ray Jackson, from the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, said that Marsland, who was stabbed three times in the yard at Goulburn, had been in the custodial system — either in juvenile centres or adult prisons — since the age of 14. This death beings the national total of Aboriginal deaths in custody since June 1, 1989, to 90 and the NSW total to 29. In 1996, there have been four deaths — two in Queensland and two in NSW. On January 12, Sean Johnson died at the John Oxley Memorial Hospital. Johnson was arrested by police outside at Eight Mile Plains on December 16. He was taken to Beenleigh watch-house and charged. Local police referred Johnson to the Logan City Hospital for assessment; he was found to be fit and was returned to the watch-house. Police later sent Johnson for a three-day assessment and on December 18 the John Oxley Memorial Hospital accepted him as a "Code Blue patient". This meant that Johnson had to be observed every 15 minutes. On the day of his death, Johnson asked for "time out". Hospital staff found Johnson on the hospital verandah hanging from a screen a metre from the floor. "This is a disastrous start to 1996", said Jackson. "It highlights again the need for positive Aboriginal input into the mainstream custodial system to properly implement the royal commission recommendations."