Fatal stabbing at Paremoremo Prison 'no surprise’

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 3

Fatal stabbing at Paremoremo Prison 'no surprise’

f PA Auckland ! The fata! stabbing of a life (prisoner at Paremoremo (Prison came as, no surprise I to a former senior psychologist at Mount Eden ( Prison, Mr D. MacKenzie. ( “The death has not sur- : prised me at all,” he said, I “In fact, I am surprised it has not happened before.” Mr MacKenzie, who retired as director of research in the Justice Department, was commenting on the death of Keith Ross Hall, aged 22, on Monday. Hall died in a recreation room of the maximum security prison where he was serving a life sentence for the murder and rape of an Ohakune girl, aged 10. Hall was apparently stabbed and beaten in the A block recreation area while he was mingling with 45 other prisoners who shared that block. Prisoners observed two kinds of hierarchy, said Mr MacKenzie. The first dealt with control within the criminal population. The jail “baron” tended to be a physically strong man who could repel challenges, or ‘ else a cunning man who could manipulate others! The type of crime was the basis for the second hierarchical structure within ; prisons. Heading the list was what Mr MacKenzie called the "normal murderer” who, because his term was indeterminate, was treated by other inmates with compassion. He got the “plush” jobs and was usually a trusted man and a good prisoner. Expert safe-breakers were also high on the scale because they were skilled

workers. False-pretepce of-, fenders came lower down. Child molesters were at the; bottom. The first months were thej most difficult for these prisoners, he said, because the offences were still fresh in people’s minds. Hie offenders were ostracised in prison, jibed at, were victims of assault, and had their food tampered with. Prison staff would try to protect such a prisoner from such attacks, he said. Mr MacKenzie said he had seen so many vicious things happen during his 10 years at Mount Eden that he was surprised such a killing had not happened before. He knew of one occasion years ago when a prisoner had been stabbed with a sharpened blade which had lodged in a rib. Weapons were not uncommon in prison, said Mr MacKenzie. An ordinary cutlery knife given a serrated edge could cut through an iron bar in 20 minutes. The head of the Auckland Regional C. 1.8., Detective Chief Superintendent B. Wilkinson, said yesterday that detectives finished interviewing the 45 A block prisoners on Monday evening. Among those in that block were 12 convicted murderers. The police had compared statements made by the 45 prisoners of their movements during the hour-fong recreation period when Hall was discovered unconscious and bleeding from a stab wound in the neck. Detectives had found a number of weapons, including three knives, during a search. Mr Wilkinson said detec-

■ lives would interview again' Jl9 of those questioned on| ij Monday to pin-point 'what I happened between 7 a.m. I Hand 7.45 a.m. i First Officer G. Price saidi ; yesterday that Hall had been] i in A block for eight months.! • He had arrived at Paremof remo in March last year and ■ had been assessed for his I acceptability by other inmates. During the last eight > months, said Mr Price, there i had been no indication of Hall’s being subjected to ha1 rassment by other inmates. > Hall had not complained >to the prison authorities s about any earlier attack, alI though when he first went ; into A block he had suffered s a minor injury. Hall had i told the authorities then that - the injury had been suffered 1 accidentally. Mr Wilkinson said that - Hall had several scalp in- ' juries which might have - been inflicted by a blunt ini strument. These injuries i might have been inflicted before the stabbing, he said. i The A block prisoners had i access to three floors in the - recreation area between 7 t a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday. - During that time they were - supervised by three prison . officers. Some Of the prisoni ers were jogging in the - exercise yard, others were working on basket-making I and other hobbies, and the > rest had been wandering 5 where they pleased.

First Officer Price said the prison’s closed circuit television system did not cover the recreation room and exercise yard. The system was used to monitor movement in and out of the cell blocks but did not invade prisoners’ privacy.