Pubdate: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 Source: West Australian (Australia) Copyright: 2000 West Australian Newspapers Limited Contact: +61 8 94823830 Website: http://thewest.com.au/redirect.shtml Author: Mairi Barton and Wendy Pryer JP ROLE IN JAILS A 'CONCERN' STATE Coroner Alastair Hope has expressed concern about prison discipline after a prisoner complained of unfair punishment hours before he was found hanging in his solitary confinement cell. Mr Hope said justices of the peace presiding over prisoner discipline appeared to be giving all inmates the maximum penalty simply for the sake of consistency. "If this is the case, I would have concerns about the way in which current practices and procedures are used to implement the disciplinary provisions of the Prisons Act," Mr Hope said. He recommended the issue be considered by a review of prison discipline which is already under way by Magistrate Paul Heaney. The comments came as Mr Hope handed down a finding of suicide after a two-day inquest this month into the death of Dean Kieran Lauder. Mr Hope said Lauder had experienced separate confinement several times and did not appear to have been distressed by it, but he did express concern to another prisoner that his punishment was unfair. Lauder was locked in a punishment cell three days before his death after being sentenced to two weeks separate confinement for two charges of using cannabis. Lauder, 22, a heroin addict serving time for burglary and car theft, was found hanging from a torn sheet tied to a light fitting in his punishment cell in May 1998. He gave no indication to the prison nurse, prison officer or other prisoners he was at risk of self harm, Mr Hope said. The inquest heard evidence Lauder's girlfriend Kathryn Doyle received a small package from a woman called Leana, of Kingsley, but Ms Doyle ignored Lauder's repeated requests to deliver the package because she believed it was heroin. Father, Stephen Lauder, told the court his son feared for his safety when he was released from his punishment cell if the drugs were not smuggled into the prison. Mr Lauder said outside the court yesterday he wished he had known his son's fears before his death so that he could have given him more support. He also complained that the family had not been notified about an earlier suicide attempt. He said his son had complained to him about the injustice of getting the same punishment for cannabis as those caught with heroin. Mr Lauder, his wife, Vennice, and daughter, Kelly, said they hoped the coroner's recommendations would be implemented. Deaths in Custody Watch Committee spokeswoman Kath Mallott said nowhere else in Australia could JPs extend the sentence of a prisoner because of a relatively minor offence in jail. Last month, Mr Heaney began conducting hearings of prison charges, replacing a system unique to WA in which JPs unilaterally determine the punishment of prisoners. Attorney-General Peter Foss said Mr Heaney's full review of disciplinary procedures was expected to be completed by the end of June. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea