Source: Radio New Zealand
Convicted murderer Gail Maney. Fairfax Media
A woman who spent 15 years in prison says being released into the outside world was like being pushed out the gate.
The coroner is calling for urgent psychological support for long term prisoners before and after release, after a former prisoner who served nearly 30 years for murder died by suicide on his release.
Those who work at the frontline said something must be done.
Gail Maney spent a total of 15 years in prison and about 10 years on parole before her conviction for the murder of West Auckland tyre-fitter Deane Fuller-Sandys was quashed.
She found being released from the structure of prison difficult.
“I was very used to being behind closed doors, and everything’s done for you and managed for you, and then it’s like you’re just suddenly pushed out the gate and into society,” she said.
“I remember thinking ‘is this it? what now?’. It’s a really strange feeling.”
Maney said she was lucky to have the ability to put her life together, though she had to do much of it herself
Reporting to probation was also stressful, Maney said.
“Dealing with probation was one of the hardest parts for me,” she said.
“They’ll tell you that if you feel like your in danger or anything like that that you can contact them and talk to them, but if you tell probation that you’re in a difficult situation they will have you recalled back to prison straight away.
“Realistically, you don’t want to go back to jail so you’re not going to reach out to probation.”
Reporting to probation was also stressful, Maney said. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Maney spoke about the need to have someone who understood the needs of those who had been in prison for a long time.
“That could mean having a more gentle approach to how they manage parolees in society,” she said.
In January, Coroner Bruce Hesketh ruled that Lee Rawiri Kohiti died by suicide two months after he left prison.
He recommended the Department of Corrections work with other agencies to address systemic issues in providing services to prisoners on release.
Mahi Mihinare Anglican Action offered accommodation and reintegration for parolees in Hamilton.
Chief executive Peter Osbourne said they had first-hand experience with suicide and self-harm.
“We’ve seen the struggles that men and women have actually coming back into a society, and often it’s a society that doesn’t want them.
“We’re sort of a very punitive culture in this country, where we think we just should lock people up and some would say throw away the key.”
Osbourne spoke about the impact prison can have on people.
“In Scandinavia they’re closing down prisons, here we are in New Zealand building new ones because we think locking people up keeps us safe,” he said
“But actually, I don’t think it does, because at some point those people come out and they come out more damaged and traumatised than they did when they went inside.”
Dr Emmy Rākete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa. RNZ / Mabel Muller
Dr Emmy Rākete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa said parolees were affected by a lack of investment in state housing and the health system.
“There’s just this disinvestment from social infrastructure of all kinds, and the enormous suicide rate amongst parolees is just one symptom of this underlying rot,” she said.
The rate of suicide among parolees over the last three years was unknown because Corrections did not centrally record the data, nor was it always alerted to the cause of death when a person was serving a community based sentence.
Chief mental health and addictions officer Emma Gardner said Community Corrections staff tracked the progress of those they managed in the community and referred to mental health services when required.
“Once someone is released, like anyone else in the community, they have access to the public health service for any mental health support they might require, she said.
“If we know someone is going to require ongoing mental health support after they are released, Corrections works closely with relevant agencies and organisations to ensure the necessary referrals are made to enable a smooth transition for that support to continue.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
