Thread by @drlouisehansen

“My heart breaks when I think of the more than 450 Black families who have lost their sons and daughters, mums and dads, brothers and sisters at the hands of the Australian justice system. As an Aboriginal person, I feel pain of every one of these deaths. #Justice4Australia 1/13

I am angry that we continue to call for accountability and action. Deaths in prison cells, deaths in the back of police cars, deaths at the hands of police and prison guards: none of them should have happened. 2/13

Since 1991 - 30 years ago - more than 450 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody. Why is 1991 important? Because that is when the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody made 339 recommendations to governments, 3/13

to ensure that there were no more deaths in police custody and in prisons.

339 recommendations, that to this day have still not been implemented. 4/13

You would think that removing hanging-points from prison cells is a pretty straight-forward thing to do. It is just one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission that hasn’t been actioned. 5/13

Each of the more than 450 deaths in custody were preventable. It’s simple: the recommendations need to be implemented. Some of those key recommendations like tackling the root causes of imprisonment, and diverting people away from prisons are yet to be actioned. 6/13

What’s even worse, is that no-one has ever been convicted or held accountable for these deaths. The community has been fighting for action for years and years. Families, even through their suffering, continue to campaign for justice. 7/13

In the last month, five Black deaths have occurred in custody in Australia. Five deaths that should not have occurred. In the coming days, you are going to hear a lot about deaths in custody - not just the most recent five, but the more than 450. 8/13

Will you stand with them and take action?

Next Thursday is the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission. You are going to hear our anger. Our sorrow. Our desperation. 9/13

We need you to help us turn this emotion into action. Join me in calling on the federal, state and territory governments to end Aboriginal deaths in custody, hold those responsible for deaths in custody to account, and support the families who are suffering. 10/13

Governments have the power to stop Black deaths in custody. They have the 339 recommendations to implement. They have the support of the community to do more. They must act now. 11/13

In solidarity,

Maggie Munn
Indigenous Rights Campaigner
Amnesty International Australia” 12/13

Stop Black Deaths In Custody. Sign the Petition:
action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/stop-b…
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