GUEST BLOG: Arthur Taylor – Another Prison suicide for Christmas
Other than his whanau, who loved him dearly, not many people have ever heard of Chris Shamrock and if Ray Smith and Corrections had their way it would stay that way.
Chris was a 30-year-old serving a life sentence in Unit 5, West Division Paremoremo. At least he was until the Night of Monday 27th of November when he apparently lost all hope that Corrections would ever allow him to complete the programs he needed to convince the Parole Board that he wasn’t an undue risk and could be released back to his loved ones.
Their Christmases will never be quite the same again because on that night he hung himself. Despite that staff are supposed to be doing regular visual checks throughout the night Chris’s body hung in his cell half the night until he was finally noticed. New Zealand no longer has the death penalty, but that is effectively what he was sentenced to when Corrections failed to carry out its duty of care to him.
R.I.P. Chris
Arthur Taylor is The Daily Blog’s Prisoner rights advocate blogging from inside prison.
I cried inside when i read this article.
I am a reular person not very religious but brough up as a Presbertarian then a Methodist but have not been to any church for over 25yrs.
I believe in the scriptures “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Why are the religious institutions standing up for those who wish to repent?
I have always given anyone the right bto repent or give then a chance to prove their salvation and in thuis case I feel a loss of a life that may havebeen saved.
My heart goes out to the family who have lost therir family member this xmas.
Another tragic loss. NZs prisons are run for punishment not rehab. They need to be closed and replaced with community run rehab schemes.