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Prisons and Punishment

Woman who performed banned breast procedure four days after arriving from China jailed over patient's death

Jie Shao was jailed six years after the death of 35-year-old Jean Huang, who underwent a banned breast augmentation procedure in Sydney.
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A woman wearing sunglasses

Derek Bromley released on parole after four decades behind bars for murder of Stephen Docoza

An Adelaide man who has spent four decades in jail for a murder he maintains he never committed has been released on parole.
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Derek Bromley speaks to the media.

Stephen Pokrywka has been deported, and wasn't allowed to see his Australian family in person before he left

An Australian resident of more than four decades is deported to the United Kingdom after his visa was cancelled due to a drug conviction, with a last-minute appeal rejected by the Federal Court.
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Stephen Pokrywka in a flannel shirt, holding his young grandchildren

New Ukrainian recruits are being plucked from prisons to cope with battlefield shortages

More than 3,000 prisoners have already been released on parole and assigned to military units, as the country fights a crippling soldier shortage in its ongoing war against Russia.
Man in hats and t-shirts crowd behind a wired fence

Grieving mother takes aim at Victorian prisons after coroner finds her son's death behind bars was preventable

In findings delivered on Monday, Coroner David Ryan identifies numerous failures in the lead-up to the death of 32-year-old Josh Kerr at Port Phillip Prison on August 10, 2022.
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Donna Kerr wears a brown checked shawl and is surrounded by family outside court.

analysis:Julian Assange was isolated for more than a decade. Here's what that does to the body and mind

While we have no idea how Julian Assange is coping from being cooped up inside for so long with few visitors, we do know that isolation can have a severe negative impact on many people.
A middle-aged white man with white hair in a suit walks out of court surrounded by reporters.

'Just stab them': Teens who attacked rugby great Toutai Kefu and his family in their home sentenced

The teens — who cannot legally be identified — were originally charged with the attempted murder of Mr Kefu, his wife Rachel Kefu and their two adult children in August 2021.
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Toutai Kefu arrives at the Supreme Court of Queensland in Brisbane.

'Horrendously understaffed' remote prison battling to provide adequate services, watchdog finds

An independent report into West Kimberley Regional Prison has found staff shortages, crowding and inequity for female prisoners has had a significant impact on its operations.
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West Kimberley Regional Prison sign.

Victoria's largest maximum security prison and another jail are set to close with job losses expected

Two Victorian jails, including the notorious Port Phillip Prison, are set to close with a new prison opening near Geelong.
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a sign that reads "port phillip prison."

Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, but how do they differ from state to state?

Australia is known for strict gun laws implemented after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, but states and territories still have different ways of treating gun ownership. Here's a guide.
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Firearms displayed, gun amnesty, weapons generic image.

Former detainees abused at Tasmania's Ashley youth detention centre reach $75m deal

Tasmanians who were abused as children in the notorious Ashley youth detention centre reach an in-principle agreement to settle their class action with the state government.
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An aerial view of Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

'Troublemaker' pitch invader fined for interrupting AFL match at Adelaide Oval

Julian Saginario, who pleaded guilty to running onto Adelaide Oval during a match between the Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats, has been fined $1,080 in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
A man gets stopped by security on an oval pitch.

Prison escapee behind famous meme 'a succulent Chinese meal' shares lunch with arresting officer 32 years later

More than three decades after Jack Karlson's infamous arrest at a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane captured the nation, a film crew is setting out to document his life.
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Screengrab of a grey-haired man being wrestled into a car by a few policeman

Woman defrauded container refund scheme the cash equivalent of almost 1 million cans

Shannara Cindy Dyball, 26, defrauded a Queensland container refund company of about $95,500, under the noses of her bosses for almost a year, the District Court in Toowoomba has heard.
A woman leaves court

Watchdog finds WA's largest regional prison under increasing strain

A report from the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has revealed declining satisfaction among both inmates and staff at Bunbury Regional Prison, and called for a review of its management, infrastructure and mental health services.
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The front gate of a medium security prison.

Department of Justice appoints DFES veteran to oversee troubled youth detention system

A career firefighter with experience in "structural and cultural" change is chosen to oversee Western Australia's troubled youth justice system.
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A man in a white DFES dress uniform named Rick Curtis smiles for the family.

Inmates care for injured animals in Victorian program

Beechworth prison in Victoria is helping take pressure off overwhelmed local wildlife shelters, by taking in more than 100 injured animals.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes

Inmates nurse injured wildlife to health in prison program — but who is rehabilitating whom?

A regional Victorian prison program training inmates to rehabilitate injured native wildlife is giving more than just the animals a second chance.
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A wombat nuzzles up to a prisoners shoe.

Anger and grief over 'preventable' death in custody of 23yo Aboriginal man despite royal commission

The lawyer who represented the family of the last Aboriginal death at Port Lincoln Prison 21 years ago says he is concerned SA jail cells have not been made safe despite multiple recommendations in the past.
Drone shot of Lincoln prison

Hells Angels bikie sentenced to life in prison over bashing murder of 'innocent bystander'

Tobias Sahlstorfer has been jailed for at least 23 years for the "tragic, brutal and totally unnecessary" bashing murder of Mark Boyce in January 2017.
A man wearing a black t-shirt and baseball cap hugs his dog

Nikki Boyd speaking on the parole board law changes

Corrective Services Minister Nikki Boyd said she received advice there were "some administrative errors in some appointments made by Parole Board Queensland".
Corrective Services Minister Nikki Boyd speaking in parliament.
Duration: 29 seconds

Government passes 'urgent amendments' after parole board bungle

The Queensland government has rushed law changes through parliament to fix an administrative bungle involving the state's parole board, which could have seen some decisions "invalidated".
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Corrective Services Minister Nikki Boyd speaking in parliament.

Jarryd Hayne leaves prison after conviction quashed

Jarryd Hayne is picked up from prison after he was released from custody.
A man opens a secure metal gate.
Duration: 48 seconds

Aboriginal man possibly suffered effects of heart attack for two days before hospitalisation, NT coroner finds

The NT coroner finds Aboriginal man Mr Dooley, who died in custody in 2022, may have been experiencing the effects of a mini heart attack for up to two days before an ambulance was called to the Darwin prison.
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New NT prison

Accused wife killer applies for bail to 'free up' Department for Corrections resources

A "very frail" accused wife killer has applied for bail citing resourcing pressure because he is being kept under guard in hospital – while the victim's family members say they are "still devastated" and grappling with their grief.
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A close up of an older woman wearing a black chef's hat and apron reading 'Nonna's Cucina'