peter clarke by family permission.
the attached correspondence to the nt chief minister, ministers knight, mccarthy and vatskalis and also to the nt coroner seeks to find an explanation of the death of peter clarke, an aboriginal man, who tragically passed away in the intensive care unit of alice springs hospital on 3 april 2012.
mr. clarke was finishing a sentence at the alice springs gaol and he was due for parole on 26 march 2012. on the 19 march 2012 peter became ill whilst in gaol and he was transferred by the gaol clinic to the hospital for better medical care. when he arrived at the hospital he was assessed by the emergency team and he was then sedated and put into the icu. he had been suffering respiratory distress but we, his family and this association, do not know the length of time he was in such distress prior to being sent to the hospital.
whilst he was heavily sedated in the icu nt corrective services saw a need to shackle him by the left ankle to the bed whilst also placing a corrective services officer in his room 24/7. why this was thought to be normal procedure is yet to be explained. peter was physically incapable of attempting to escape even if he had wanted to. the guard remained until he was finally sent away by the icu registrar, dr. raj, but the guard continued to visit peter to make sure, perhaps, that he had not absconded.
dr. raj had informed peter's family that he was suffering pneumonia,emphysema and a possible cancerous node in his left lung that showed in his scan on arrival. peter was not a fit man and it most certainly was not appropriate for him to be brutalised in this manner. the practice of shackling in australian gaols is totally offensive and more so when the practice is abused as it was in peter's case. recently the gaol system of south australia was vilified for its ridiculous and cruel shackling procedures, including the shackling of an inmate whilst she was giving birth! whilst such practices may have been normal procedure during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they most certainly have no place in modern custodial operations. the more so when they are so commonly abused.
peter was due for parole on 26 march but did not recover from his illnesses and he died on 3 april 2012, still in an induced state and in the icu. his death, however, was not automatically identified as a death in custody as it should have been under royal commission recommendation 6 a/b. a recommendation that is recognised by every australian coroner and acted upon as and when necessary.
what was so different about peter's death then? prior to his hospitalisation he was finishing his bottom sentence and was looking forward to getting his parole. he went to hospital on the 19 march 2012, eight days before his release. sadly he never made it. he remained in his induced state for a further nine days before passing on. even though the superintendant of the gaol understood peter's death to be an automatic death in custody some authorities thought otherwise.
dr raj stated that he had rung the coroners office but we do not know if he actually spoke to the coroner personally or to one of his officers. perhaps the coroners constable? dr raj informed the family that peter would not be treated as a death in custody because from 26 march he had been paroled! he was in fact 'a free man.' how absolutely bloody ridiculous. he was still a person of interest to corrective services even if he'd been on parole. which he wasn't. the parole of an inmate from gaol creates a paper-trail and forms need to be signed by the inmate to make it official. if such paperwork had been finalised before peter went to hospital, nothing has been shown to, or given to the family to verify such an action.
it is most certain that peter did not receive a 'bedside' parole as he was too ill so regardless of any parole date being named, peter was most definitely under the care and control of the nt corrective services until such time that his health improved and he was able to sign the relevant documents to obtain his release.
the family requested that an autopsy be done and he was given a 'hospital' autopsy but no autopsy report has been given to the family. there are so many questions to be answered concerning peter's death that only the coroner can investigate the mutated procedures that stopped peter having an inquest. who is to be held responsible for the death of peter? the alice springs gaol and its medical clinic? is there something the alice springs hospital is attempting to hide relative to his treatment?v was it in fact 'natural causes' caused by a degree of fatal errors at each stage that caused his demise?
we, the family and this association, do not have the answers but we expect that a full coronial inquest will and must be held to find out.
below are given family contacts along with the 3 deaths in custody organisations. please note, however, that the attached correspondence is fully authorised by my association only.
For interviews contact
Family representatives
Kylie Hampton (daughter) 0448886249 or email hamptonkylie@ymail.com
Wayne Clarke (brother) Home phone: 08 89536057
Gladys Appo (sister) Home phone: 08 89551316
Marilyn Davies (sister), 0411398760
Stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody National Network
Sydney: Ray Jackson, President, Indigenous Social Justice Association, 0450 651 063 or 02 9318 0947
Melbourne: Alison Thorne, Indigenous Social Justice Association Melbourne, 0411 080 031
Perth: Bruce Campbell, WA Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, 0409 947 457
ray jackson, president, indigenous social justice association
isja01@internode.on.net (m) 0450 651 063 (p) 02 9318 0947 address 1303/200 pitt street waterloo 2017
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