Earlier: PM Jacinda Ardern gives update on Christchurch shooting
The accused gunman behind the Christchurch terror attack faces a "solitary and miserable experience" in prison, a former inmate says – and much worse if others are able to get to him.
The Herald understands that the accused has been transferred to an Auckland specialist security facility, where he isbeing kept under 24-hour observation while he waits on remand for his trial.
Dr Paul Wood, an Auckland life coach and consultant who spent more than a decade in North Island prisons for murdering his former drug dealer, said inmates would already be plotting attacks on the accused killer.
"I really want the New Zealand public to know that this guy is not going to be having an easy ride in prison. The softer option for him might have been suicide by police," Wood said.
"For the rest of his life, he is going to have the choice out of extreme loneliness and everything that comes with prolonged isolation – and, if and when he gets put with others, anxiety about the constant threat and stress of attacks. He doesn't have any good options."
Wood stressed that he wasn't advocating or encouraging violence against the accused, but was speaking from his experiences as a prisoner.
His own sentence included a 10-month stint in Paremoremo prison's maximum security unit.
The Herald asked the Department of Corrections specific questions about where the accused gunman was being held, the level of security in place and how he will be managed over coming months.
A spokesperson provided only minimal details, but confirmed he was currently segregated from other prisoners, with no access to TV, radio and newspapers, and had no approved visitors.
"He is being managed in accordance with the provisions set out in the Corrections Act 2004 and our international obligations for the treatment of prisoners."
Wood expected he would be in administrative segregation, or "super seg".
"He's going to be in a cell, 23 hours a day, that will have nothing in it whatsoever that could allow him to harm himself or others," he said.
"You're talking about the equivalent of a cinderblock room with a toilet, maybe a steel bench bolted to the wall, and a bed.
"The guards and others are not going to be engaging with him in conversation – in fact, they're probably under strict instructions not to."
"At the moment, it will be incredibly lonely and mind-numbingly mundane and boring, but eventually, if he's allowed in contact with others, someone is going to try to kill him.
"In the prison environment, there's a lot of brutality... someone is going to try to take justice into their own hands.
"Because if you come into a prison with a profile for anything that's considered an undesirable type of offence – for example, any of the notorious, prolific sex offenders, or anyone who has offended against a child – not only do you become a target, but one which is actively and deliberately sought out for brutality."
"There are going to be people who are inside right now who are absolutely looking forward to making his life as miserable as possible."
Dr Paul Wood spent 12 years in jail, where he completed two degrees and started a PhD, before opening his Auckland-based business, Switch Coaching & Consulting. Photo / File
Wood said the accused gunman could face everything from harassment, such as bottles of urine being poured under his door, to the threat of his food being contaminated by inmates working in the kitchen.
"And that's before he's even physically touchable by people. The second he's out with them, there might not even be a whole lot of serious intimidation, but just an attack when the opportunity arises.
"He's going to have to be constantly vigilant – but even then, there's no level of vigilance that can prevent someone else attacking you, if they're really committed to doing it.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there'll be people who try to get themselves placed in segregation, pretending that they need to be in there for protection, but are actually just trying to get themselves in a position where they can kill him or maim him."
His high profile would make him a headache for the Department of Corrections and prison staff, Wood said.
One gang member has already indicated to the Herald that the accused gunman will be a marked man in prison.
