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Legal body sounds alarm after SA Indigenous death
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights has spoken out following the death of a 29-year-old Indigenous man being held on remand in South Australia.
Emma Musgrave
The legal body has supported calls for an independent inquiry into the death of a man referred to as Mr Morrison, at the request of his family.
“Our very deepest sympathies go out to Mr Morrison’s family and loved ones.
“ALHR strongly supports calls made by the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement for an independent inquiry overseen by a public body such as the Office for Public Integrity.”
Ms Maguire said there are a number of questions about the time it took for the inmate to receive medical attention, as well as the time it took to notify his family members of the events surrounding his injuries.
“An independent inquiry is needed to shed light on all of the events that took place following the deceased being taken into custody on remand,” she said.
“ALHR notes that the inmate was being held on remand and had never been in prison previously. His family has said that Mr Morrison was preparing to apply for home detention bail to live with his mother in preparation for trial.”
Ms Maguire said despite it being 25 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Australian jurisdictions appear to have gone backwards.
“When the Royal Commission report was released in 1991, 14 per cent of prison inmates were Indigenous,” she explained.
“Today, the percentage of Indigenous inmates is 27 per cent. In 1991-1992, there were nine Indigenous deaths in custody.
“In all but one of the 25 years since, there have been at least that many deaths or more.”
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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