KEY POINTS:
The grieving father of a teenager bashed and strangled to death in a prison van, says his son's death was in vain.
Another prisoner was beaten in the back of a prison van yesterday, en route to court.
The 34-year-old man, who had requested to be segregated from
other prisoners, was set upon by the four other prisoners in the same compartment.
His attackers had all also requested segregated status . All were on remand.
The bashed man suffered abrasions and cuts on his face, though an x-ray found he had no broken bones.
The Department of Corrections confirmed the assault only a few months after it promised to overhaul prison transport after Liam Ashley's murder.
Last August Liam Ashley, 17, died when he was beaten and strangled by another prisoner on the way to Mt Eden Remand Prison in Auckland but the beating produced a promise from the Government to do something within two weeks.
That did not happen, said Liam's father Ian Ashley.
The family announced last month it would sue the Department of Corrections over Liam's death in an effort to make the department more accountable and prevent further injury and possible deaths.
"This is not going to change it. I am not going to be able to do anything for this country," Mr Ashley said today.
He said the Department of Corrections and Chubb (which has the contract to transport prisoners) promised after Liam's death something would happen within a week or a fortnight.
He said they were trialling prison vans with separate cages for individual prisoners but nothing had happened.
"They have got no plans to change any of this because it all involves money."
Mr Ashley said Liam's legacy would have been a change to the system to stop anyone being killed or injured by other prisoners in prison vans but it appeared he had died in vain.
"It was worth nothing.
"There is only just one word about how the whole family feels about this whole affair and that is disappointment. We are totally disappointed with life in this country."
He said the family had to deal every day with Liam's death.
"Every day is still a struggle," he said.
"We only get through the day and what is happening in our lives because we are a close family."
Mr Ashley said he no longer trusted anyone in the justice system.
Department of Corrections assistant general manager Brian McMurray defended his department's segregation policies, and said despite the latest beating they were working well.
"In that same vehicle, there were four categories of prisoners," he told Radio Live.
In addition to the beaten prisoner and his four attackers, a female and a youth each had their own compartments, as well as six mainstream prisoners riding in another compartment.
"What you've got to understand is there are about 2500 prisoners from a population of 8000 who have requested segregation, or are segregated for some reason."
Mr McMurray also defended the safety record of Chubb, the company contracted to transport the department's prisoners.
"If you look at the record of Chubb's over the years ... you'll find they have an exceptionally safe record of moving people."
All standard operating procedures were followed by both Chubb and the department, he said.
Though there were occasional outbreaks of violence, Mr McMurray said those in Corrections Department custody were less violent inside than when they were out on the street.
"These people aren't angels. In the community they attack and injure each other, and that behaviour spills over into prisons occasionally."
- NZPA
