Annette Sykes: Dean Wickliffe's lawyer on Wickliffe undertaking hunger strike after alleged assault by guard

A 77-year-old prisoner has accused prison guards of beating him and is undertaking a hunger strike. 

Corrections says Dean Wickliffe refused to enter his cell, threw an item at guards and was injured after taking up a fighting stance. 

It says one staffer involved is not at work - and appropriate action will be taken if staff don't meet standards. 

Wickliffe hasn't eaten for 10 days. 

His lawyer, Annette Sykes, says he was beaten badly. 

"Photos have been released that show, quite clearly, that his version of events has some veracity." 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now this correction story, they've launched an investigation into one
of their own prison guards. There was an altercation with
a seventy seven year old prisoner at spring Hill Prison.
This prisoner happens to be the notorious convicted murderer Dean Whickliffe,
who was recently recalled to prison when his lawyer says
he was beaten up for refusing to be double bunked.

(00:21):
And as Sikes is Dean Wickliff's lawyer, and she's with
me now and a good evening, good evening, So what
exactly did he throw? The correction says that he threw
something at the prison guard or in the room.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
What happened there, We have a contested vision of events,
so those metters will no doubt be part of the investigation.
Our instructions are that And I want to just take
a step back. I wasn't notified by Springhill that he
would in custody. I was actually notified by a very
lovely police officer from the Total Press station the arrested

(00:56):
the Dean for a breach office role residence requirements, and
she had contacted me letting me know that they had
located him at the place of residence, but he was
sleeping in his car, which was a strict breach. One
of the problems is of homelessness in our area is
there is insufficient houses. But if you've been paroled to

(01:18):
an address, that's where you need to be. He was
found in his car by himself, with two cats that
he had been caring for that with stray cats. She
was concerned to let me know one that he had
been in prison too, that we needed someone to pick
up the car, three that she wanted me arranged rescued
for these cats because that was his instructness to me,

(01:39):
and four to contact him at Springhill the following day.
I did that, and I was advised by the people
that we were speaking to at spring Hill that he
didn't want to speak with me. It wasn't until Friday
last week that I found out that these other events
that you've discussed in your introduction had transpired, and that
in fact, she had been in hospital on Tuesday evening

(02:02):
as a result of the assault that he had suffered
as he entered his prison cell earlier that week.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
So the corrections of saying he was he didn't he
didn't want to take your call because he was refusing
to leave his cell. I mean, you can't exactly force
him to take the phone, can you?

Speaker 2 (02:18):
No? But I had he told me quite clear that
that wasn't the position, right so March no, he said
on a tenth of March, because he felt that he
wasn't giving equal treatments and their treatment that he had
asked specifically for where to be contacted. He also decided

(02:39):
at that point that he you know, this is an
individual that understands very well the regulatory requirements for prisoners
while they are in custody. He also felt that he
was being denied fundamental rights that you normally get to
all prisoners, and he wanted to have those matters dealt with.
Then he was accosted, He was assaulted and Ion strattenz

(03:00):
Are his head was smashed into the concrete. Photos have
been released that show quite clearly that his version of
events has some of the recipity. And we're also now
advised today some several days after that, even the internal
investigation crisis of the Department of Corrections himself have actually
stood down the prison officer. Something was wrong.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
There and it stites. Thank you very much for your time.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio