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Title: Mystery chemical quells prison rampage
Source:
News.com.au
URL Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18846857-421,00.html
Published: Apr 19, 2006
Author: Philippa Duncan
Post Date: 2006-04-19 14:16:35 by Tauzero
Keywords: None
Views: 72
Comments: 3
Mystery chemical quells prison rampage HOBART'S Risdon Prison inmates threw molotov cocktails and paint, set fire to mattresses and a guard's office, smashed lights and trashed cells before being subdued by a mystery chemical agent. The prison's tactical response group stormed Division Four at dawn yesterday and ended the 20-hour siege with force and the chemical spray. Inmates exposed to the spray were then decontaminated and moved to another part of the prison. Assistant prisons director Greg Partridge said no one was hurt in the surrender of 26 male inmates but the guard involved was "obviously very shaken". The tense stand-off began at 10am (AEST) on Sunday, when an inmate overpowered a female guard and stole keys to the Division Four section. It is understood the guard was in a fenced corridor which runs past the maximum security cells where there should have been no inmates. The guard fled and the inmate released 25 other prisoners from their cells and they took charge of the division. Equipment had been left in the division to repaint cells. The inmates used these to make molotov cocktails. They already had the matches to light their home-made missiles. Mr Partridge said the inmates trashed the division, threatened staff and made demands. "Mattresses shredded, broken glass, office furniture damaged and thrown all over the division, totally destroyed," he said. Mr Partridge said the inmates' demands for food - specifically pizza and KFC - and better access to dental treatment and prison exercise areas had not been met. The siege is the second in a year and has prompted the guard's union to demand an urgent security review. Prison Action Reform wants the prison's three top personnel - prisons director Graeme Barber, Mr Partridge and corrective service director Peter Hoult - to quit or be sacked. Mr Partridge would not identify the chemical used on the inmates because it was an "operational matter". But PAR legal officer Greg Barns said inmates and their families deserved to know what chemical was used and if the correct medical treatment had been followed. He said inmates had not been given the correct medical treatment when capsicum spray was used in the past at Risdon. The prison was locked down last night, visits were banned and the inmates involved were locked in spare cells. Tasmania Police spent all day at the siege scene and have security footage of the entire event. Mr Partridge said sieges had become common and should be expected. "These types of incidents occur in all prison systems," he said. "We'll continue to have incidents. "They'll continue to be managed in a professional manner." But Mr Barns, who is a columnist with The Mercury, said sieges happened when inmates' concerns were ignored. "People are frustrated," he said. "The conditions at the prison are very difficult. There hasn't been much improvement since the last siege." He said access to the outdoor grass oval had been severely restricted. In May last year, a guard was held hostage during a 41-hour siege involving 19 prisoners. The siege erupted when prisoners overpowered a guard and took over the jail's reception area. It ended with the delivery of pizzas and promises by management to look into the prisoners' demands. Mr Partridge said yesterday those deemed appropriate had been met.
By Philippa Duncan
18-04-2006
From: The Mercury
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#1. To: Tauzero (#0)
More penal colony experimentation?
“I don't think we have to worry about Rumsfeld, he's a ruthless little bastard isn't he ?" I think it was a secret, weaponized blend of 11 herbs and spices.
According to the prison study just out from Norway, I suspect that it was a mega-dose of Omega3 fish oil spray.
- Richard Nixon excerpt white house tapes.
#2. To: robin (#1)
No one is more miserable than the person who wills everything and can do nothing.
-- Claudius
According to the socionomic uncertainty principle, the clearer our view of the situation, the less we can do to alter it.
Truth then is not beauty; it is serenity, reserved to the stoic.
#3. To: Tauzero (#0)
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