Liam James Reid in court after he was charged with murder. Photo / NZH
Murderer and rapist Liam Reid says he was seriously assaulted at New Zealand’s toughest prison - and is taking Corrections to court alleging it failed to ensure his safety as he never should have been housed in the same unit as his attacker.
He is seeking a High Court ruling that Corrections has acted “illegally” and “unreasonably” by keeping him in a maximum security unit when his prison classification is lower.
Reid is serving a life sentence with a 23-year minimum non-parole period for raping and killing Christchurch deaf woman Emma Agnew in 2007.
He was also convicted of the rape, attempted murder and robbery of a 21-year-old student in Dunedin nine days later.
He is currently incarcerated at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo.
Reid claims that earlier this year - on March 6 - he was “seriously assaulted” by another inmate.
He claims the assault never would have happened if Corrections had placed him in the appropriate unit at the prison.
Last week Reid filed legal action against the agency in High Court at Auckland and a hearing has been scheduled for July 12.
Court documents provided to the Herald reveal Reid’s current security classification is “low-medium” - however he is being held in the maximum security unit.
Reid says he has “followed all legitimate reconsideration procedures for his placement to be reviewed” but Corrections have “declined” his request.
“(Corrections) has failed to consider all options of placement available for (Reid’s) placement to be consistent with his security classification at Auckland Prison,” his High Court application states.
“(Corrections) has not taken into account all relevant considerations for (Reid’s) placement to unit nine at Auckland Prison nor has (Corrections) considered this unit as a viable option of placement for (Reid).”
Alongside the assault, Reid says being in the wrong unit means he has been denied visits from his family including wife Davina Reid.
The pair married after she was caught smuggling a cellphone, cigarettes, and a lighter to Reid - her client at the time - while he was on remand at Mount Eden Prison.
She was struck from the bar but is currently fighting to practise law again.
She filed her husband’s application for a Judicial Review on Thursday.
The application outlines how Reid is “only unlocked every second day” and is “only permitted to one five-minute phone call every two days”.
“(He) has not had any family visits since August 2021,” the application claims.
“(Corrections) has prevented family visits to this unit since the lockdowns were imposed in August 2021 in response to the pandemic.”
He said Corrections had “acted unreasonably” both in “maintaining his placement inconsistent with his security classification” and by “preventing family visits”.
“(Corrections’) actions are wrong in law… and void,” the application said.
“(Reid) is materially prejudiced by (Corrections) abuse of power which contravenes… the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.”
He is seeking a legal declaration from the court that Corrections has “acted illegally through breaching its statutory powers” by failing to ensure his safety and place him in a unit consistent with his security classification.
“(Corrections) has operated unreasonably, prejudicially, and has abused its powers… (and) has breached its statutory duties and acted in bad faith by preventing all prisoners’ access to visits from their families and friends.”
Reid told the Herald - through his wife - that not being able to see family for so long made him “depressed, frustrated and angry”.
Davina Reid said not being able to see her partner was a “devastating loss”.
Auckland Prison director Stephen Parr said he could not discuss Reid’s classification, citing Corrections’ legislative obligations under the Privacy Act 2020.
“And for operational security reasons,” he added.
“But we can confirm this person was offered the opportunity to move to a different unit and they declined.”
As of June 27 Parr was unaware of any application for Judicial Review.
Last week Corrections’National Commissioner Leigh Marsh addressed Reid’s issues around his lack of visitors.
Marsh said since February, family visits had resumed for Auckland Prison inmates “held in the low-security units”.
“Due to the additional staffing requirements for other units in the prison, high security (units 1-5) and maximum security (10-13) prisoners, family visits are currently being facilitated via AVL on request,” he said.
“The Prison Director also has the discretion to permit visits in extenuating circumstances including on compassionate grounds and at times these have been approved.”All prisoners at Auckland Prison are also provided with free phone calls to remain in touch with family and friends.”
He addressed Reid’s claim that he was locked in his cell for days at a time.
“Auckland Prison is New Zealand’s only specialist maximum security facility, which accommodates the country’s most dangerous and high-risk people,” he explained.
“Each day, prior to any unlock of prisoners, staff must assess and manage a range of operational requirements and risks, including who can be unlocked together, whether they are segregated or in the mainstream population, whether there is a risk of them associating with co-offenders, and whether there are any gang tensions that may pose a risk to the safety of staff and other prisoners, as well as the security of the prison.
" Many prisoners in maximum security have long histories of antisocial behaviour, and can behave unpredictably and act without warning. Because of this, our maximum security units at Auckland Prison require a higher number of staff to carry out unlocks.
“If there are less staff than required, the unit will operate on an alternate regime to carry out unlock so the same group of prisoners are not always affected.”
Marsh said the Corrections Act 2004 allowed for individual’s minimum entitlements to be “denied” if there is an “emergency in the prison, the security of the prison is threatened or if the health or safety of any person is threatened”.
“There have been a number of times recently where staffing levels have been less than required to safely unlock prisoners in maximum security units, which means they have been denied their minimum entitlement,” he said.
“When this occurs, prisoners are generally unlocked on alternating days in order to limit extended periods of time in their cells.
“We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening, however the safety of our staff and the people we manage in prison is our absolute priority.”
Marsh acknowledged it had been “extremely hard” for maximum security inmates who were not able to see their loved ones face-to-face.
“And (we) understand the impact that spending extended periods of time in their cells may have on them, he told the Herald.
“Work is underway at the site to increase the amount of time maximum security prisoners are spending out of their cells and resume face-to-face visits with family where it is safe to do so.”
Reid has maintained his innocence since his arrest for Agnew’s rape and murder and is working with his wife and legal team towards seeking a further appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Currently there is no appeal active.
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008.
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