Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal health service says the ACT government transferred TJ Dennis into the NSW prison system from Canberra's jail, despite being urged not to for the sake of the inmate's mental health.
The death in custody of an Indigenous man who was previously drawn in a game of hangman by Canberra prison staff has prompted calls for an independent inquiry.Mr Dennis was the subject of a hangman drawing by ACT prison staff in an incident that was taken to the Human Rights Commission
According to Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Service, the ACT government transferred him into the New South Wales prison system from Canberra's Alexander Maconochie Centre , despite the service urging it not to do so for the sake of Mr Dennis's mental health.a hangman game played on a whiteboard in a staff-only area of the AMC in 2018
At the time, the ACT Corrective Services Commissioner labelled the incident "abhorrent" and "extremely disappointing".Winnunga Nimmityjah chief executive Julie Tongs said in her opinion Mr Dennis's death was "not only predicable, it was avoidable" had the ACT government heeded their advice. "While NSW authorities investigate the death, it is inappropriate for the government to make any comment, other than to say death in any circumstances is tragic."Chief executive of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services Julie Tongs says TJ Denis's death was avoidable.
"You'd think that after the first one … they'd realise that there was something not right and that he had issues, yet they chose to do nothing about it until after the hangman incident," she said.
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