Hunger striking prisoner Dean Wickliffe hospitalised, parole hearing moved forward

Police confirmed today they are investigating Dean Wickliffe's claims he was assaulted by guards in Springhill Prison on March 6.

• Hunger-striking prisoner and convicted killer Dean Wickliffe has been taken to Waikato Hospital this morning with declining health.
• His Parole Board hearing has also been moved forward by eight days – to Wednesday at 2.20pm.
• Police today confirmed they are investigating the alleged assault on Wickliffe at Springhill Prison on March 6.

Corrections has confirmed that hunger-striking prison inmate Dean Wickliffe has been transferred to Waikato Hospital.

The parole board has also brought his hearing forward to Wednesday, March 26. It was previously scheduled for April 3.

Wickliffe’s legal team said he has suspected kidney failure.

Corrections said privacy laws prevented it from commenting on Wickliffe’s health status.

Convicted killer Dean Wickliffe, one of New Zealand's highest-profile criminals, was taken to Waikato hospital on Monday, day 14 of his hunger strike.

Wickliffe, 77, was arrested for breaching parole by living in his car on March 5 and was allegedly assaulted on March 6 at Springhill Prison. Corrections earlier confirmed a staff member would not be at work while they investigated the allegation.

Corrections told the Herald today that the staff member has now been placed on special leave.

Wickliffe went on a hunger strike on March 10, telling supporters he is prepared to die for his cause. He wants to be released from prison with no parole conditions.

“He’s still on his hunger strike,” a member of Wickliffe’s legal team told the Herald on Monday.

“The medical information we have is still pretty scant. We have requested medical information in accordance with a privacy waiver from him, but we don’t have any yet.

“We know that he has impaired kidney function – he reported this on Saturday following a medical checkup.”

The Herald can also reveal police are now looking into Wickliffe’s alleged assault by a Springhill Prison staff member on March 6.

A police spokesperson said: “Police are making initial inquiries into an alleged incident at Spring Hill Corrections Facility earlier this month.”

On March 18 the Herald reported the 77-year-old prisoner had told his lawyer he’d lost 17kg during his eight-day hunger strike, which began on March 10.

Wickliffe has now been on the strike for 14 days.

The convicted killer has spent almost four decades behind bars and was once the country’s longest-serving inmate.

He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice, in 1976 and 1991.