Denied the right painkillers, an Indigenous woman has killed herself in a Townsville prison

A 37-year-old Indigenous woman has killed herself in a Townsville prison because she wasn't given the painkillers she needed for a tooth abscess and old injuries from a car accident.

The Queensland coroner found in an inquest that risk assessment of the woman failed to pick up her history of mental illness because it only looked at the previous six months.

The coroner says urgent changes are needed in prisons.

Report by the ABC.

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Comments

I was locked up once overnight for breaking bail on a charge of swearing, despite suffering severe anxiety and having no medication to calm me the nice police officer who believed in the lord took away my cigarettes and i spent the entire night struggling with demons that could well have ended up in suicide. What was the woman charged with? I bet it was a petty offence. Coppers are bastards.

Noel looks like you still swear after being locked up maybe they should have hung you that way we would not have to read your rude words.
I had a tooth abscess more than once with no medication can't say I thought about suicide.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Police force for making Australia one of the safest places on earth to live keep up the good work.
P.S keep removing foul mouthed people like Noel off the street, and give them a couple of upper cuts from me

I am just so sick and tired of hearing "oh this was unnecessary and something needs to change" from the magistrate or judge. What a pathetic statement to make after the fact. The legal protectors-magistrates and judges- need to walk their talk and get off their well paid rear ends and DO! something.
Roarrrrrrr! is how I feel.