Prisoner’s Murder Claim Rejected (Press, 27 August 1986)

On 27 August 1986, the Justice Department in New Zealand dismissed allegations made by a former prisoner from Christchurch, who claimed that a reported suicide in a New Zealand jail was actually a murder. This assertion was presented to the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Violence, although the former inmate's identity was not disclosed, as per the request of the committee's chairman, Sir Clinton Roper. The Justice Department labelled the claim as “unsubstantiated and scurrilous,” with the Secretary for Justice, Mr David Oughton, stating that there was no evidence to support that any prison suicide was an act of murder. Mr Oughton noted that all deaths occurring in prisons underwent investigations by the police, followed by Coroner's inquests that were public, thereby denying the suggestion of any cover-up by the authorities. The former prisoner also made various other allegations, including claims of prison staff engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with inmates, yet he failed to present any documentary evidence to the committee. He accused prison staff of ignoring violence within the facilities and implied collusion in an attack on former detective Wayne Haussmann. He reported that drug availability was rampant in the prisons, alleging over 50 per cent of inmates were under the influence of cannabis on a typical Saturday night. In response to the serious nature of these allegations, Mr Oughton firmly stated that there was no evidence to back the claims regarding staff misconduct and labelled them as an "outrageous" insult to prison staff. He urged the former inmate to provide any evidence he had to the police for proper investigation. Addressing the issue of drug use among prisoners, Mr Oughton acknowledged that it was a significant problem not isolated to New Zealand prisons. He mentioned that the department was actively examining ways to tackle the drug issue, with discussions occurring at a recent conference held for prison superintendents, where potential strategies had been considered.

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