AN indigenous inmate is suing the ACT government after prison officers allegedly drew a “vile and racist caricature” that depicted him hanging from a noose, reported The Guardian this morning (September 21).

The inmate had been the subject of a game of “hangman” played on a whiteboard by prison staff within a staff-only area of the AMC in 2018.

The Guardian reported that in proceedings lodged in the ACT supreme court, the man’s lawyers, Ken Cush & Associates, say the whiteboard and the hangman picture were used as a “vehicle to ridicule, degrade, disrespect, and vilify the plaintiff amongst the correctional officers and detainees in the AMC”.

“The lawyers allege those responsible knew or ought to have known that the man was a vulnerable indigenous person due to his mental health issues and previous suicide attempts,” the news outlet wrote.

The inmate was struggling with his mental health during this time and in May last year he attempted suicide twice in two weeks and was rushed to the ICU at Canberra Hospital.

A few months before he was taken to hospital, the then Corrective Services commissioner Jon Peach admitted there are staff at the centre that don’t deliver the professionalism and respect they’re supposed to.

“There are a small number of staff who do not display this same commitment or the level of professionalism, integrity and respect for those in our care that the community should expect from our service. I wish to reaffirm that these people do not have a place in ACT Corrective Services,” Mr Peach said at the time.

A settlement was reached in the ACT Administrative and Civil Tribunal (ACAT) last year, after which the ACAT and ACTCS apologised for any distress or harm the drawing may have caused.

Following this settlement, in March this year, Mr Peach was suddenly moved out of his position as the prison boss.

The Guardian today reports that the current case in the supreme court alleges that the government and the prison staff responsible failed in their duty of care to the detainee and their duty to prevent him from suffering harm.