QLD's Sentence Management

Sentence Management Unit - Wolston Correctional Centre

Brian Rigby, Sharon Gibb, Lorraine Edwards, Alice Mascini, David Armstrong, Debbie Wills, Gary Gray, Michael Williams, Rawinia Te Kanawa, Margaret Bilic.

Tony Rawlins: Half-a-life-time in prison......

QLD: In order to enhance my 'quality of life' at this stage of my 4th incarceration, I submit an application, for inclusion into the Leave of Absence Program.

Some years ago, (in frustration) I intimated that I would be happier to spend the rest of my life in prison! But, since then "I" have realised that "I" am not the only one affected by my decision! There are my family, sisters, brothers, and nieces etc who care and worry about me in my situation.

I am in a position of being a "tragic optimist"; I am optimistic despite of the 'tragic' events in my life. The suffering I have caused to others and the 'pain and guilt I have felt, for 50 years.

I posed the question: - "how can one possibly say 'yes' to a life in prison?"

In spite of my past I can only suppose that 'life' has a potential meaningfulness, under any circumstances. Any situation or condition, no matter how miserable.....

This realisation, presupposed that 'I' have the capacity to reverse the "negatives" into something "creative" in my future. In spite of all that has transpired; into something of a positive structure, with a constructive purpose.

Examining my past has given me an 'insight' into the "human" potential, which permits the turning of suffering into an achievement, And to examine my guilt, finding opportunities to change myself into a 'better' person. (I don't, for one minute, try to say that I'm perfect.....Far from it) but to accept a more responsible outlook, a commitment to action, which 'I' believe is 'equal' to 'rehabilitation'.

For years, my world had become "my body" at the "prison" in which I served my time...That was wrong because a prison is a place that one should strive to be released from.

I was doing the opposite. My only concern, then, was myself; it was selfish, and at the realisation, I came to understand that 'I' should do something about it. Because once an inmate has found a "meaning" he develops a capacity-capability, to 'cope' with the suffering and guilt. The ability to realise "he" is not useless. And loses the feelings of 'emptiness' and meaninglessness.

A strong meaning orientation plays a decisive part in seeking to rehabilitate oneself. Because one can now seek to realise the potential meanings of situations, each and every one of them. To 'actualise' them to the best of his ability-knowledge-and beliefs. Therefore he can become aware 'that it "can" be done in a given situation.

Firstly, by the creation of a 'work plan', before committing himself to 'action'.

Secondly, by experiencing ' that meaning can be found only in work and 'love' of his fellow man. Therefore an inmate, who thinks himself in a hopeless situation, facing odds he can't change, can overcome and expand beyond himself, and by so doing 'change himself' and "turn" 'tragedy' into 'triumph'.

Imprisonment is extraordinarily stressful, nevertheless, one can benefit from the experiences, by using it as a growth experience.

Today I see my life as being abundantly filled with meaning and purpose. Now realising that 'guilt' and suffering of 'incarceration' the growth I now have would not have been. How did this happen? When did it happen?

When a person cannot change the situation that causes the suffering and guilt, can still change his 'attitude'; change his 'choices'; so priorities become (altering the situations causing the suffering) accepting and analysing the guilt, and the reason for it! Altering the personality and outlook toward the guilt situations.

Removing and safeguarding against the causes and avoiding the situation, in my approach to life - to where I can 'safely' say, "I can live in an outside community without any personal 'fear' of breaching the 'moral' codes of the laws of a higher power gives 'meaning and purpose to human life, and the earths' greatest treasures lies in 'human personality."

It was by coming to realise that the 'pain' I now felt and the 'shame' was the "quantity" and "capacity" to also 'love', to feel 'joy' and to have compassion and empathy,

NB; -' A person should be 'judged' on who he is now and not who or 'what' he was, 50 years ago...............!

Tony still seeking release after half a lifetime 'inside'

WHEN Tony Rawlins was locked away for life; trams were still running in Brisbane. City Hall was the tallest building on the skyline and Joh Bjelke-Petersen was a little known Opposition backbencher.

QLD INDEFINITE DETENTION 'IN A NUTSHELL'

In Queensland prison sentences have become step-by-step more lengthy over the last decade according to prisoner Mr David Minty who has been in jail for 20 years.

Corrected or Corrupted

A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Indefinite detention means the government owns its citizens

A convicted rapist detained indefinitely in a north Queensland jail has lost a High Court appeal against his detention. Robert John Fardon was due for release more than a year ago but remains in custody under controversial Queensland legislation.

By Tony Rawlins 7 June 05

Ed: The High Court has considered the scope of indefinite detention in another case that of, Fardon v Attorney General [2004] HCA 46 ('Fardon'). Fardon was a case where the majority (Gleeson CJ, McHugh, Gummow, Hayne, Callinan & Heydon JJ; Kirby J dissenting) upheld the constitutionality of the Dangerous Prisoners (sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) ('2003 Qld Act') The 2003 Qld Act permitted preventative detention of convicted sexual offenders who fulfilled various criteria established by the 2003 Qld Act. The majority in Fardon distinguished the 2003 Qld Act which was constitutional according to a very conservative High Court.

The majority in Fardon held that preventative detention legislation enacted by a Parliament is not inevitably or necessarily unconstitutional even though it means that the Government owns its citizens. Along side Mental health legislation, quarantine legislation, public health emergencies legislation, migration legislation are examples of preventative detention legislation which have a long history of being accepted as valid legislation. The 2003 Qld Act did not apply just to a single named person. The Qld Act applies more generally in respect of any person who is actually serving a sentence for sexual offences of which he or she has been convicted in Queensland.

Related:

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Indefinite detention means the government owns its citizens
A convicted rapist detained indefinitely in a north Queensland jail has lost a High Court appeal against his detention. Robert John Fardon was due for release more than a year ago but remains in custody under controversial Queensland legislation.

Sentencing: Violent crime and practical outcomes
In addition introducing restorative justice programs giving the offender a chance to interact with the offended person if they wish and visa-versa. People are not "dogmatic" therefore should be given a second chance opposed to Life means Life!

Government justice not personal justice
Mr Brett Collins of Justice Action said, "Victims should be looked after properly by implementing restorative justice measures and victims should be compensated for their pain and suffering. " However prisoners are entitled to serve their sentences in peace and privacy as well."

Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die.

NEW PRISONS MEANS MORE CRIME!!!

The Premier's announcement of 1000 new spaces for prisoners is irresponsible government behaviour. His statement that more prison capacity will reduce crime is misleading, and panders to ignorance and fear, while the policy does the exact opposite of what it claims.

New South Wales has the highest rate of recidivism in Australia at 44% and rising. This means that at least 44% of the new prisoners will commit more crimes within two years of their release.

The Premier also claims that the investment in new prisons will create jobs in rural economies. However, if the $1 billion were spent on health and education, it would reduce crime, and give a boost to rural economies by raising the number of skilled, healthy workers.

Money spent on prisons in NSW has been proven over and over to be money thrown down the drain.

Not only does the recidivism rate show that the Department of Corrective Services is failing in its own vision of, "Contributing to a safer community through excellence", but the net widening effect of building more prisons was acknowledged in 1994 by the Department's own Women's Action Plan:

"...the provision of increased access to correctional facilities in country areas may create a net widening phenomenon resulting in the courts sending more women to prison who may otherwise have received non-custodial sentences.

There is a strong body of opinion that in spite of oft stated support for a reductionist approach to women in prison, if additional places were provided, particularly in country areas, they would inevitably be filled." (p. 48)

Contact: Stacy Scheff, Brett Collins after hours: 0438-705-003

Justice Action
65 Bellevue St, Glebe, NSW 2037, Australia
P.O. Box 386, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
ja@justiceaction.org.au
voice: 612-9660 9111 fax: 612-9660 9100

Please log into the Justice Action Web site, designed and sponsored by Breakout Design & Print, exercising good corporate citizenship.

By Justice Action 17 May 05

Related:

Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
Prison Action and Reform is dedicated to progressive reforms in criminal justice and to the humane treatment of inmates in our prison system.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
Apparently one prisoner had been mistreated and held in isolation in an SHU (Segregation Housing Unit) [Solitary Confinement] because, he'd had and altercation with a screw. SHUs cause severe mental harm - regarded as torture - and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading way to keep prisoners.

No Safe Place
In a brief four month span from August 1999, five men died in Tasmania's Risdon prison. Their deaths have put the state's corrections system in the dock and led to the planned demolition of a jail which even the State's Attorney-General now calls an "appalling facility".

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Overhaul Department of Justice: Reform Group
WA: The Prison Reform Group of WA is calling for a complete overhaul of the Department of Justice following recent events which have compromised its integrity, placing prison staff, prisoners, their families and the community, at risk. We call for the Minister to publicly apologise for last week's debacle which has seen the public badly let down by the Department of Justice yet again.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

Craig Annesley: Miscarriage of Justice
The reason for this article is because a Secretary at the Council for Civil Liberties stated to me that they haven't got the funding to help me with a false imprisonment case which happened February 97 - and in February 2005, it will be 7 years after the incident which will mean I will be too late to bring a civil case to court?

Detention Centres, Solitary Confinement
On Friday night the NSW Council for Civil Liberties awarded Sydney solicitor John Marsden honorary life membership. Julian Burnside was invited to make the speech in Marsden's honour. In the course of his speech, Burnside referred to the unregulated use of solitary confinement in Australia's immigration detention centres, criticising it as inhumane and also as unlawful.

In memory of the late Bob Jewson
Some will remember that Bob was In the Bathurst riot in February 1974 and was a leading member of the Prisoners Action Group now - (JusticeACTION) upon his release. He wrote Stir, the screenplay upon which the film Stir was based. He played a major role in agitating for a Royal Commission into the events at Bathurst, and when the Nagle Commission commenced hearings Bob was to be found every day sitting in court for the duration, following proceedings for the PAG.

Critical Resistance - Sydney
Just a reminder message about the meeting this Wednesday, if any of you are able to come down after BBA meeting. Apologies about the clash of days, definitely not intended. It seems great minds think alike!

Review of the Mental Health Act 1990

Indigenous Social Justice Association & Justice Action Mental Health Act Review Submission.

Indigenous Social Justice Association & Justice Action Mental Health Act Privacy/Carers Submission.

Review of the Mental Health Act 1990 - discussion paper

Indigenous Social Justice Association & Justice Action Mental Health Act Review Submission

1. We contend that the wording of the objects unnecessarily contrasts civil and other rights with effectiveness of treatment. It does not have to be a matter of balance, and in fact we suggest that real care is consistent with rights, dignity etc. The use of the word "control" (in this Section and throughout the whole Chapter) repeatedly with neither qualification nor mitigation leads to a strong impression that all people with psychiatric disabilities are always in need of 'policing' and restriction. We disagree totally and consider this to give rise to prejudicial attitudes and actions by the public and professionals related to perceptions and assumptions of dangerousness and lack of capacity.

Indigenous Social Justice Association & Justice Action Mental Health Act Privacy/Carers Submission

According to people with psychiatric disabilities, when a person's mode of thought is associated with an inability to cope within the manner that the society is set up, assistance, if given at all, is grudging, controlling, punitive. You must at least appear to conform, and even when you show complete subjugation, or even 'recover' according to the system's designated pattern, you will remain under suspicion and increased control for the rest of your life. It must be recognised that the patient is the most disempowered person, the one whose input is most likely to be disregarded and put down as a symptom. As such it is necessary to ensure their rights.

There is also a major problem in this society regarding the understanding of the concept of 'interdependence.'. It must be stated that most people with psychiatric disabilities do not have official 'carers', and that care, concern, assistance and advocacy is felt, shown and done by people with psychiatric disability for others close to them who do have similar problems and also for others who have different problems, as others do for them. Broader relationships on community and other levels also show interdependence. The relationship roles mostly acknowledged in society are those of personal independence and self sufficiency with no assistance, or dependence. Within dependent relationships are martyrs, worthy causes and the unworthy. We regard reliance on this analysis and conceptualisation of human relationships to be not spectacularly useful, and it is highly damaging to force such roles upon people, it is denigrating, and it is discriminatory. It is really important to recognise interdependence and to use this concept to ameliorate the conflicting/competing rights concepts and to prevent antagonism. Nothing in the above prevents general discussion, education and facilitating access to resources and organisations aimed at increasing a person's autonomy, and reducing socially constructed disability.

We believe that it is vital to respect the patient as a person. It should never be assumed that the person is incapable of considering a matter, forming an opinion and giving direction regarding the matter. This includes who is privy to information and who may be involved in admission, treatment, and discharge, in terms of Health and non-Health persons and the interaction of the two. There is generally a presumption that any patient with psychiatric disability lacks capacity. This is untrue. It is also untrue that a lack of capacity regarding one issue means that the patient may be regarded as lacking capacity in another or all issues. Issues need to be looked at on a case by case basis. We discuss global conceptions of capacity vs partial in the other submission.

Review of the Mental Health Act 1990 - discussion paper

This title was selected for preservation by the State Library of New South Wales and is archived regularly. The publisher's site may provide more information.

No. 2. The Mental Health Act, 1990 archived 16 Aug 2004
No. 1, Carers and Information Sharing archived 16 Aug 2004

Review of the Mental Health Act 1990
This discussion paper is designed to look at the general terms of the Mental Health Act 1990, focussing on operational and treatment issues. The Paper has separate sections on each Chapter of the Act, and seeks general comments on all aspects of the legislation as well as identifying specific areas where suggestions for reform have arisen in the past, or as part of preliminary consultation on this Paper.

By Justice Action and ISJA posted 17 January 05

Related:

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

Isolation, psychiatric treatment and prisoner' control
The 2003 NSW Corrections Health Service (now Justice Health) Report on Mental Illness Among NSW Prisoners states that the 12 month prevalence of any psychiatric disorder in prison is 74%, compared to 22% in the general community, and while this includes substance disorder the high rate cannot be attributed to that alone.

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: HARM-U
In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW’s only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the ‘vision’ flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Fed Govt threatens force over mental health spending!
The Federal Government has threatened to coerce the states and territories to spend more on mental health services.

Deaths in Custody, Police Powers and Mental Illness
The NSW Police Force should not have a role in the psychiatric diagnosis and medication of the public. Police are not medically trained in this speciality.

Police to uphold law not decide mental health
A diagnosis of mental illness could be made over the phone instead of in person, and involuntary psychiatric patients could lose the right to have their case reviewed by a magistrate, under proposed changes to NSW mental health laws.

Carr Govt dramatic increases in the NSW prisoner pop...
Following the opening of the 500 bed Kempsey prison, and a new 200-bed prison for women at Windsor the Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) and community organisations specialising in the rehabilitation of prisoners, have expressed concern....

Australia's "GITMO" System
Australia's "GITMO" System In June 2002 on the PM program on ABC radio, PHILIP RUDDOCK is quoted as saying: "Well, let me just say, detention centres are not prisons. They are administrative detention.

At The Ministers Pleasure?
20 people have been recommended for release from Long Bay Prison Hospital yet they are still there.

Government justice not personal justice
Mr Brett Collins of Justice Action said, "Victims should be looked after properly by implementing restorative justice measures and victims should be compensated for their pain and suffering. " However prisoners are entitled to serve their sentences in peace and privacy as well."

Sentencing: Violent crime and practical outcomes
In addition introducing restorative justice programs giving the offender a chance to interact with the offended person if they wish and visa-versa. People are not "dogmatic" therefore should be given a second chance opposed to Life means Life!

Jails-The new asylums?
QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Asylum seekers -- no, not what you think -- but those who are so disillusioned with the current approach of our mental health system that they believe we should go back to the old ways and rebuild the asylums.

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN N S W
Ms CLOVER MOORE (Bligh) [4.43 p.m.]: Today I speak about the shocking situation for people with mental illness, and call for urgent government action. There have been calls for reform of mental health services as far back as the 1983 Richmond report, followed by the 1988 Barclay report and the 1993 Burdekin report.

Conditions in the HRMU
Justice Action is trying to obtain documents on behalf of prisoners held in the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) from the Federal Attorney General's Department, Corrective Services Minister's Conference regarding the process described below, in which the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia were adopted. This documentation will help explain the justification for the conditions in the HRMU.

Forensic Hospital at Long Bay
NSW should reject the government decision to set up a secure forensic hospital at Long Bay - or in any place where it can be influenced by the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) (or probably Corrections Health Service (CHS) for that matter).

Escape from hell?
A third person has escaped from the Adelaide's Glenside psychiatric hospital as health authorities prepare to begin a second review of security.

Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die.

Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
Life in jail is an ordeal but it's a much harsher sentence for the child of a prisoner, writes Paola Totaro. 30 July 03

History of trauma dogs sole parents and the government
Australia's sole parents including those who were squarely divided by the Family Court of Australia which include tens of thousands of lone mothers on welfare benefits have experienced rape, physical assault, torture and mental health disorders at some time during their life, a new study shows.

Child detainees 'living in a nightmare', report finds
A report being released today documents disturbing evidence about mental health for children in detention centres.The report is a joint work by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, NSW University and NSW psychiatrists.

The children's crusader
It is all about prevention. As Fiona Stanley sees it, with one in five Australian teenagers experiencing significant mental health problems, there are just not enough treatment services to cope with the demand.

National Mental Health Conference
I attended a National Mental Health Conference Last Monday 21 of June at Canberra ACT. The conference started off with a welcome message from Patrick Dodson.

Schizophrenia: talking may help when drugs don't
About one in every 100 Australians experience schizophrenia at some point in their life, suffering delusions and hallucinations such as hearing voices and believing other people want to harm them. In extreme cases it can lead to suicide.

RIOT ACT READ AGAINST INSPECTION TEAM
The secrecy of the unit holding several people charged with terrorist offences here in Australia was confirmed during an attempted community inspection by a delegation from Justice Action. The delegation comprised four women and two men.

Report recommends freeing child detainees
The Human Rights Commission has found that some children held in Australia's immigration detention centres have been exposed to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

A review of psychiatry, law and politics in Victoria
Neither Bad Nor Mad tells the story of Garry David, a convicted Australian murderer who became famous by sending out threats to the public and descriptions of his extreme self-mutilations to news papers while incarcerated.

Presentation at the Ngo Mental Health Conference
I am James Condren from Justice Action I am a Community Mentor and caseworker. My role is to do prisoner support for those who are in Jail or at risk of going to Jail.

Turning the Tide or Cuckoo's Nest?
In NSW we are currently at a watershed as to how forensic patients in particular and the mentally ill in general will be treated. If we don't strongly register our protest against their objectification now we will later be just railing against a fait accompli.

Attack prompts call for increased mental health funding
The Western Australian Opposition is calling for a review of mental health funding following the weekend attacks on two nurses at Perth's Swan Districts Hospital.

Howard, where's your head at?
How many Australians will convert this fear into Mental Illness?

Jails-The new asylums?
QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Asylum seekers -- no, not what you think -- but those who are so disillusioned with the current approach of our mental health system that they believe we should go back to the old ways and rebuild the asylums.

Cry for help that led to the morgue
According to ABC Radio News the hospital procedures prior to the man below's death (R.I.P.) are to be investigated by someone from CORRECTIONS Health Service (?!). I wonder how the Daily Terror et al got their photographers in the scene so soon...

Escape from hell?
A third person has escaped from the Adelaide's Glenside psychiatric hospital as health authorities prepare to begin a second review of security.

Victim plea for counselling?
The mother of murdered Wagga Wagga woman Janine Balding said she remains a supporter of the death penalty despite one of her daughter's killers pleading his innocence and despite that penalty not being an option in Australia.

Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
The study's author, Simon Quilty, said children and their remaining parent were often unsupported, increasing their vulnerability to mental health problems. "This enormous group of children are born into situations they simply have no control over. This also puts them into family environments which, often by loss of a parent to prison, makes them even more marginalised. "This effectively puts them at far greater risk themselves of becoming involved in some form of criminal activity."

PRISONERS OFFER OF RECONCILIATION
Premier Bob Carr, Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge, Senator Aden Ridgeway,and other community representatives have been invited to receive the message from the men of "The Hole.

History of trauma dogs sole parents and the government
Australia's sole parents including those who were squarely divided by the Family Court of Australia which include tens of thousands of lone mothers on welfare benefits have experienced rape, physical assault, torture and mental health disorders at some time during their life, a new study shows.

Child detainees 'living in a nightmare', report finds
A report being released today documents disturbing evidence about mental health for children in detention centres.

Letter from the mother of a prisoner on remand at the High Risk Management Unit Goulburn Correctional Centre
I am writing to give you permission to make any inquiries on my behalf as I am invalid pensioner who doesn't drive and been only well enough to travel by train once in 15 months to see S. I have enclosed a copy of S's letter and also a copy of gaol papers form I have to fill out and wait to see if I'm allowed in to see him. He doesn't get any visits. He is in the Supermax and deprived of any privileges not even legal Aid will fund a solicitor to see him in Goulburn.

Judicial, mental health and police corruption
Ian Kay, who blew the whistle on judicial and police corruption here in Victoria has recently been improperly incarcerated in MAP Prison, Melbourne for doing nothing more than writing a letter of complaint to his local MP. It seems he is one of the first victims of the Australian Government's so-called tough line on terrorists, which in reality is a poorly made smokescreen for stifling dissent and disclosure of malpractice in the government bureaucracy.

RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.

Alcohol pickles your brain
Pickle point; a leading professor Dr. Bud said after releasing his report on the problems associated with alcohol.

UK

Winning goals: Rethinking Crime and Punishment
Extracts in this feature are adapted from I Would Rethink Crime and Punishment By...published today by the thinktank Rethinking Crime and Punishment.