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| Indigenous man Stanley Lord's death in custody sparks call for law reform | Indigenous man Stanley Lord's death in custody sparks call for law reform |
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| Driving ban laws must be reformed and more circle sentencing used to help Indigenous communities, an inquest into the death in custody of a Ngemba Aboriginal man has heard. | Driving ban laws must be reformed and more circle sentencing used to help Indigenous communities, an inquest into the death in custody of a Ngemba Aboriginal man has heard. |
| Stanley “Bud” Lord died of suspected heart failure on 19 January 2013 in Long Bay jail, about 600km from his native Barrabinya country in north-west NSW. | Stanley “Bud” Lord died of suspected heart failure on 19 January 2013 in Long Bay jail, about 600km from his native Barrabinya country in north-west NSW. |
| He was serving an 18-month sentence for driving while disqualified in the remote town of Nyngan, north-west of Dubbo. | He was serving an 18-month sentence for driving while disqualified in the remote town of Nyngan, north-west of Dubbo. |
| At the NSW coroner’s court in Sydney on Tuesday, six members of Lord’s family listened as a police sergeant and forensic pathologist detailed the complicated array of cardiac and kidney problems which ultimately claimed the 39-year-old’s life. | At the NSW coroner’s court in Sydney on Tuesday, six members of Lord’s family listened as a police sergeant and forensic pathologist detailed the complicated array of cardiac and kidney problems which ultimately claimed the 39-year-old’s life. |
| The Lord family have alleged that he was “roughed up” by police at the time of his arrest in Nyngan, and was again assaulted at Long Bay. | The Lord family have alleged that he was “roughed up” by police at the time of his arrest in Nyngan, and was again assaulted at Long Bay. |
| In court, Sergeant Peter McMaugh denied there were any records of police brutality at the time that Lord was taken into custody. | |
| Lord was subsequently treated for his long-standing heart problems while in jail in Wellington and continued to receive treatment at Long Bay, Dr Johann Dulflou, a forensic pathologist who oversaw the autopsy, confirmed. | Lord was subsequently treated for his long-standing heart problems while in jail in Wellington and continued to receive treatment at Long Bay, Dr Johann Dulflou, a forensic pathologist who oversaw the autopsy, confirmed. |
| The staff who treated Lord in his final days did not give evidence, but Duflou said any questions about the suitability of the treatment that Lord received needed to be weighed up with a consideration of the case of “someone who is desperately ill”. | The staff who treated Lord in his final days did not give evidence, but Duflou said any questions about the suitability of the treatment that Lord received needed to be weighed up with a consideration of the case of “someone who is desperately ill”. |
| Across Australia, Indigenous people are locked up at about 15 times the rate of non-Indigenous people. They make up less than 3% of the population, but take up 25% of the beds in jail. | |
| Speaking to Guardian Australia before the hearing, Felicity Graham of the Aboriginal Legal Service, representing the Lord family, said that the system of jailing people from remote communities for relatively minor driving offences is in urgent need of change. | Speaking to Guardian Australia before the hearing, Felicity Graham of the Aboriginal Legal Service, representing the Lord family, said that the system of jailing people from remote communities for relatively minor driving offences is in urgent need of change. |
| “The current regime is either locking people up, or locking them out of the system.” | “The current regime is either locking people up, or locking them out of the system.” |
| In remote areas with large Indigenous populations, driving bans can be debilitating, Graham said. “There’s a disproportionate effect on regional and remote areas due to a lack of public transport. Mandatory disqualification periods see people off the road for years and years, with no hope of driving with a licence.” | In remote areas with large Indigenous populations, driving bans can be debilitating, Graham said. “There’s a disproportionate effect on regional and remote areas due to a lack of public transport. Mandatory disqualification periods see people off the road for years and years, with no hope of driving with a licence.” |
| “I see this regime as a major contributor to the mass imprisonment of Indigenous people,” Graham said. “In local courts in NSW, 10-12% of terms handed out are for unauthorised driving offences.” | “I see this regime as a major contributor to the mass imprisonment of Indigenous people,” Graham said. “In local courts in NSW, 10-12% of terms handed out are for unauthorised driving offences.” |
| An Aboriginal Legal Service report on the wider Dubbo area found almost half of the service’s clients convicted of driving while disqualified were jailed – a higher imprisonment rate than aggravated indecent assault or possessing child pornography. | An Aboriginal Legal Service report on the wider Dubbo area found almost half of the service’s clients convicted of driving while disqualified were jailed – a higher imprisonment rate than aggravated indecent assault or possessing child pornography. |
| Anthony & Stanley Lord wait for start of inquest into custody death of Stanley Lord jnr, jailed for driving offences pic.twitter.com/cAK2wMg7SI | Anthony & Stanley Lord wait for start of inquest into custody death of Stanley Lord jnr, jailed for driving offences pic.twitter.com/cAK2wMg7SI |
| Lord’s brother Anthony echoed the calls for reform, citing the need for increased use of circle sentencing, an alternative system of justice by which a group of elders and community leaders discuss the allegations before delivering sentences. | Lord’s brother Anthony echoed the calls for reform, citing the need for increased use of circle sentencing, an alternative system of justice by which a group of elders and community leaders discuss the allegations before delivering sentences. |
| “I just collapsed when I heard the news. It was too great for me. I couldn’t handle it,” Anthony Lord told the court. “But Bud should have gone to circle sentencing, not jail. There was no violence. | “I just collapsed when I heard the news. It was too great for me. I couldn’t handle it,” Anthony Lord told the court. “But Bud should have gone to circle sentencing, not jail. There was no violence. |
| “Let’s have elders come in and not look at them not as criminals, but as people,” he said after the hearing. “In circle sentencing we can have a say as to why we believe we shouldn’t be jailed for non-violent offences. I’m sick and tired of people dying in jail.” | “Let’s have elders come in and not look at them not as criminals, but as people,” he said after the hearing. “In circle sentencing we can have a say as to why we believe we shouldn’t be jailed for non-violent offences. I’m sick and tired of people dying in jail.” |
| A NSW government review last year recommended that driver licence disqualification be reformed but the calls are yet to be taken up. | A NSW government review last year recommended that driver licence disqualification be reformed but the calls are yet to be taken up. |
| “It’s racist, pure racist,” Anthony Lord said. “Until we get the law changed, it’s gonna keep happening. It’s unfair.” | “It’s racist, pure racist,” Anthony Lord said. “Until we get the law changed, it’s gonna keep happening. It’s unfair.” |
| Lord said he blamed himself for his brother’s death. | Lord said he blamed himself for his brother’s death. |
| “He was my baby brother. I feel like it’s my fault that he was in jail. I should’ve been there to protect him.” | “He was my baby brother. I feel like it’s my fault that he was in jail. I should’ve been there to protect him.” |
| Graham told the court that it was Stanley Lord’s big heart which ultimately killed him. | Graham told the court that it was Stanley Lord’s big heart which ultimately killed him. |
| “It was his big heart which he will be remembered for.” | “It was his big heart which he will be remembered for.” |
| The Department of Corrective Services was reserving comment until the court’s findings on Thursday. | The Department of Corrective Services was reserving comment until the court’s findings on Thursday. |