By PHIL TAYLOR
A prison inmate who wants compensation for being kept in solitary confinement has already shared in a $325,000 payout for being beaten by guards.
Mongrel Mob member Warren Charles Te Hei, who has convictions for armed robbery and attempted murder, is among 18 inmates suing for compensation for being held in solitary at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo.
In 2000, he was one of the nine prisoners who received a payment after being beaten by guards at Mangaroa Prison in Hawkes Bay.
The 18 include some of the country's worst criminals. At least four are serving life for murder.
One is Te Hei's brother, Sam, also a Mongrel Mob member, who was convicted in 1987 of kicking a 16-year-old girl to death with his steel-capped boots after she refused sex.
Ten years later, the brothers were convicted of attempting to murder a fellow Paremoremo inmate. The prosecution said they attacked gang prospect Anesome Benehuro Graham because he refused to stab a prison officer as an initiation rite.
Graham, who had a broken leg in plaster, was stabbed 10 times as he lay on his cell bunk.
Lawyer Tony Ellis, who acts for the inmates, estimates that the 18 could be in line for $500,000, based on a ruling this month that awarded five former inmates a total of $130,000.
In all, about 200 inmates could have a claim, worth $4.5 million based on that award.
At the time of the Mangaroa payout, the Government refused to reveal the amount, but this week the Corrections Department confirmed it was $325,000. It would not specify what each man received.
A ministerial inquiry found the prison used informal squads of guards known as "designated hitters" to restrain and beat inmates.
Twelve guards were sacked, the prison's name was later changed to Hawkes Bay Regional Prison, and the Government formally apologised to the prisoners.
Mr Ellis says he has about 10 more specific claims ready to file and is considering taking a class action on behalf of all the estimated 200 Paremoremo inmates held in solitary confinement under the Corrections Department's controversial Behaviour Management Regime, which ran for four years.
The claim alleges prisoners were unlawfully held in solitary confinement, in conditions that fell below "those ordinarily enjoyed" by maximum security inmates at the jail.
At its most extreme, the regime involved a prisoner being locked in his cell 23 hours a day for 14 days.
Corrections is appealing the September 2 ruling, in which four other inmates were awarded between $2000 and $25,000. If the Court of Appeal confirms the award, the Government might consider a settlement to all inmates held under the regime rather than face court battles.
Justice Minister Phil Goff has instructed staff to work on a law change to stop such claims but it would not apply retrospectively.
But Mr Ellis told the Weekend Herald that New Zealand had few cases of prisoners seeking compensation for alleged breaches of human rights compared with Britain and Europe. "There is definitely scope for more prisoners' rights cases."
Some people would be outraged, he said, but "if prisons were run properly and staff were trained there wouldn't be any need to bring these actions".
SIX OF THE WORST
Among the 18 prisoners seeking compensation:
WARREN CHARLES TE HEI
Offences: Aggravated robbery, attempted murder.
1993: Sentenced to nine years' jail for aggravated robbery of a bank near Hastings.
1997: Sentenced to 10 years, with brother Sam, for attempting to murder another Paremoremo inmate, Anesone Benehuro Graham, stabbed 10 times as he lay in his cell bunk with a broken leg in plaster.
Affiliation: Mongrel Mob
SAM TE HEI
Offences: Murder, attempted murder.
1987: Sentenced to life for murder of 16-year-old Colleen Karen Burrows. The court was told Te Hei and co-offender Tad Kotahi Sullivan took Ms Burrows from a party to have sex with her. When she refused, they knocked her to the ground and kicked her repeatedly with steel-capped boots in an attack the Crown said lasted almost an hour. They then washed their boots and returned to the party.
Affiliation: Mongrel Mob.
IAN DOUGLAS JOHNSON
Offences: Murder, firearms, robbery, explosives, escaping.
Sentenced to life for the 1999 murder of his drug-dealer flatmate Stavros Stavrianos, whom he shot in the face from close range with a shotgun.
1981: Caught trying to blow Kingsland Post Office safe with gelignite.
1985: Fired rifle at a constable, the bullet nicking his neck. Later shot at member of the armed offenders squad.
1991: Jailed for seven years after terrorising staff during bank robbery.
KELVIN JOHN WILLIAMS
Offences: Murder, robbery.
Sentenced to life for murdering Clinton Strong at Motueka on New Year's Day 1995. The Crown said the victim received 20 blows from Williams' boots, one causing his liver to rupture.
MICHAEL ANTHONY MANIHERA
Offences: Murder.
Sentenced to life for stabbing to death 60-year-old Wanganui bottle store manager Ian Comrie in May 1997.
MICHAEL EDWARD McCARDLE
Offences: Attempted murder
Sentenced to six years' jail for his part in a drive-by shooting of an innocent youth at Wairoa in April 1995. The crime followed a fight between Mongrel Mob and Black Power.
Affiliation: Mongrel Mob.
Inmate claims his second payout
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