Demand Justice for Veronica Baxter
For more information, contact Ray Jackson, President, Indigenous Social Justice Association, on 0450 651 063 or Rachel Evans, CAAH Spokesperson, on 9690 1977. Get Involved in the campaign!
Greens push for Baxter inquiry - SSO - April 12, 2011
Campaigners for the truth about the death of Aboriginal transwoman Veronica Baxter in Silverwater jail have welcomed a NSW Greens push for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter.
'Why did our sister die in a men's jail?' - SMH - April 10, 2011
Greens MP David Shoebridge said questions remained about why Ms Baxter, a transgender Aboriginal woman, was put in an all-male facility when she identified as a woman, and why she was not given hormone medication prescribed to her.
PRESS RELEASE - April 8, 2011
Rally to Demand New Inquiry and Justice for Veronica Baxter
A public campaign calling for an Inquiry into her suspicious death was waged for two years. A rapid half day inquiry was held on Monday 4th April, slated to have gone for two days. The Inquest was all over by 3.30pm but Deputy Coroner, Magistrate MacMahon held a press conference at 6.30pm to invoke s75(5) of the Coroners Act, 2009.
12 noon, Friday 15th April, 2011
Rally outside Glebe Corner’s Court, 44-46 Parramatta Rd
Mystery remains in Baxter death - SSO - April 6, 2011
Ray Jackson of the Indigenous Social Justice Association told the Star Observer that it was “a sham and a shame” that the only witnesses called had been police and corrective services officers.
Greens push for Baxter inquiry - SSO - April 12, 2011
Campaigners for the truth about the death of Aboriginal transwoman Veronica Baxter in Silverwater jail have welcomed a NSW Greens push for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter.
Last week, NSW Deputy Coroner Paul MacMahon ruled Baxter’s 2009 death a suicide despite four emergency calls from her cell on the night of her death.
Greens MLC David Shoebridge told the Star Observer he was hopeful of securing parliamentary support for an inquiry.
“The sooner the inquiry can sit, the fresher the evidence will be, and the sooner answers can be obtained,” Shoebridge said.
Shoebridge said he hoped to have corrective services officers who dealt with Baxter, a counsellor who spoke to her, and a medical expert who could testify to the effects of withdrawal from hormone therapy, come before the inquiry to shed light on the period leading up to her death.
Shoebridge said he had requested exhibits and transcripts from the inquest, but he understood Baxter had not been given access to her hormone replacement medication while in jail.
Withdrawal from hormone therapy has been known to cause distress in some people and Baxter was already withdrawing from heroin on entry to prison.
She reportedly told a counsellor she was feeling “not feminine” two days before her death but was otherwise described as “happy, smiling and content”.
Shoebridge said it was remarkable that records were not kept of prisoners’ emergency calls.
“It is an extraordinary situation where there was a death in custody, preceded by a series of emergency calls, with no police statements or records taken of the content of these calls,” he said.
“We are left in the situation of witnesses being asked two years later to recall events, with no contemporary records available to allow for more accurate recall. At a minimum this must be remedied with a clear requirement to record and maintain all prisoner emergency calls for a minimum seven-year period.”
“A two-year delay for a half-day hearing is not the way of obtaining justice for Veronica Baxter. The coronial inquiry has raised more questions than it has answered and a further detailed investigation is now a priority.”
Baxter’s supporters welcomed the Greens’ move.
“The major parties are bereft in this area and I’m pleased David [Shoebridge] is lobbying for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Veronica Baxter’s death,” Aboriginal Social Justice Association president Ray Jackson said.
“We want a new police investigation and we want a new inquest.
“There are so many unanswered questions remaining and there are anomalies arising from the deputy coroner’s inquest.”
Jackson and Community Action Against Homophobia are organising a rally outside the Glebe Coroners Court at noon on April 15 to call for a new coronial inquest — which is also the 20th anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody. View Article
'Why did our sister die in a men's jail?' - SMH - April 10, 2011
TWO years after Veronnica Baxter died in a men's jail, her brothers are still asking why.
A coronial inquest into Ms Baxter's death last week found she committed suicide at Silverwater in 2009, sometime between her single-cell door closing on March 15 and when it was opened the next morning.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said questions remained about why Ms Baxter, a transgender Aboriginal woman, was put in an all-male facility when she identified as a woman, and why she was not given hormone medication prescribed to her.
Corrective Services policy states transgender prisoners should be put in a centre based on which gender they identify with - unless there are concerns for their safety or that of other prisoners. Mr Shoebridge will refer her death to a parliamentary inquiry with the power to call witnesses.
''It is a serious disappointment and a failing in the system that there was a two-year delay for a half-day coronial inquest,'' he said. ''That delay has meant that witness recollections were stale.''
Ms Baxter, 34, was born James Drury in the Queensland outback, but was known as Veronnica from the age of 19.
She was arrested on March 10, 2009, charged with selling drugs, but Mr Shoebridge said her final days remain a mystery.
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith will be briefed on the case tomorrow by the Department of Corrective Services, which submitted its own investigation to the Coroner.
NSW Labor leader John Robertson, who was the corrective services minister at the time, declined to comment.
In the meantime, her two brothers, who work in Queensland cattle stations, have asked deaths in custody activist Ray Jackson from the Indigenous Social Justice Association to help publicise their sister's story.
When deputy state coroner Paul McMahon ruled her death a suicide, Ms Baxter's brother William phoned the court to lift a non-publication order that applied.
''They want the facts out there, they want to know what happened to their sister,'' Mr Jackson said.
In evidence presented to the Coroner, Ms Baxter was interviewed by counsellors who reported she was not at risk of suicide.
In a report by a counsellor who interviewed Ms Baxter on March 14, she is described as ''happy, smiling and content''. The counsellor said she was ''co-operative and polite'' but when asked how she felt, said: ''Not feminine.''
Two days earlier, she had been interviewed by a counsellor at the Surry Hills police cells. The counsellor's report said: ''I did not see or hear anything to suggest that she was having difficulties being incarcerated.''
Her family and Mr Jackson said they want to know why this changed.
In her last hours, Ms Baxter made emergency calls from her cell to corrective services officers. These calls were not recorded, and officers at Silverwater could not say who answered them.
In the only recommendation from the inquest, Mr McMahon said that in future these calls and the response from a corrective services officer should be recorded and retained for ''an appropriate period''. View Article
Stop Black Deaths in Custody! Real Justice for Veronica Baxter!
Veronica (Paris) Baxter was an Aboriginal transgender woman locked up in Silverwater prison on March 14th 2009. She was found to be hanging by a bed sheet that was tied to the top bunk in her cell, at 6am on March 16th, 2009.
A public campaign calling for an Inquiry into her suspicious death was waged for two years. A rapid half day inquiry was held on Monday 4th April, slated to have gone for two days.
The Inquest was all over by 3.30pm but Deputy Coroner, Magistrate MacMahon held a press conference at 6.30pm to invoke s75(5) of the Coroners Act, 2009. The Act slaps an individual $1100 or six months imprisonment if they publish anything about the case. A media outlet can be slapped with a $5500 fine. This suppressed any information being made public about the Inquiry, gagging any media publicity or comment on the case by activists or others. By 7pm all articles placed by the Associated Australian Press, Sydney Morning Herald, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation relevant to Veronica (Paris) and her unnecessary death had been removed.
When activists contacted the Coroner’s court to ask them the reasons behind the gag motion, representatives stated the reasoning was to “protect the family”.
However, Veronica Baxter’s brother William Drury said “I had not been contacted by any person from the Coroners Office. I was rung twice by the Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) Solicitor who, among other matters, urged me to accept the continuation of the gag. I did not want this, as I want my sister's case to become very public, so such a tragedy never happen again.” Authority to act on behalf of her family has now moved from the ALS to the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA), due to the fact that the ALS were not in favour of lifting the non-publication order, whilst ISJA were acceptable to take instructions from the family.
Ray Jackson, Indigenous Social Justice Association spokesperson, said “this inquiry was a sham. It did not resolve how she died. We saw a white-wash – on the twentieth anniversary of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in custody. After the farce of this ‘inquiry’ we then saw censorship of the like I have never seen before, in my twenty years of black deaths in custody campaigning.”
The only witnesses called were the Police Investigative Officer, a Corrective Services Investigative Officer, and a gaol Programmes Manager, who had arranged for the Transgender Correctional Officer to talk to Veronica (Paris). All witnesses were vague in several important areas of their areas of individual responsibility. The gaol Transgender Officer was not called by the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS), yet she was the officer with hands-on responsibility for Veronica (Paris) and her welfare.
The inquiry revealed Veronica (Paris) made four emergency calls during the night of her death. No witness addressed if those emergency calls had been answered, or by whom. It revealed all psychological assessments made of Veronica Baxter before her death, declared her “not-suicidal”. One counsellor declared her to be “smiling, happy and talking".
There was no information in the inquiry as to if Veronica Baxter was placed on her hormone treatment. norrie mAy-welby, sexual rights activist, said “Deputy Coroner MacMahon declared Corrective Services followed the NSW transgender imprisonment policy to the letter. But we had no evidence to confirm she had been given her hormones. If trans people are not given their hormones, they can become suicidal.”
Adding insult to injury, Deputy Coroner MacMahon bought down a ruling that primarily used Veronica (Paris) Baxter’s male name.
Ray Jackson said “We need another inquiry, and we won’t stop till we get one. The Coroner tried to hide this case. Why? If they have nothing to hide, why this gag motion? We don’t know what happened to Veronica Baxter, because the Inquiry was a charade.”
norrie mAy-welby noted “The Coroner thinks no-one will care about the life of a transgender, Aboriginal woman. Well they are wrong. We call on all peoples and groups who want real justice for Veronica (Paris) Baxter, and those who want an end to transgender and black deaths in custody to rally with Community Action Against Homophobia and ISJA on the April 15th 2011, outside the Glebe Coroner’s Court. This is the twentieth anniversary of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody.”
Transgender inmate suicide not preventable
SMH - April 7, 2011 - By Britt Smith
Eds: Legislation prevents the publication of any coronial proceedings after a coroner has found the cause of death was suicide, unless a coroner makes an order allowing publication. The coroner made this order on Thursday, after speaking with Ms Baxter's family.
The hanging suicide of a transgender Aboriginal woman in a male jail could not have been prevented by the Department of Corrective Services, a coroner has found.
Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon said there was nothing to suggest any failure by the department contributed to the death of Veronica Baxter, who was found dead in her cell while on remand at Sydney's Silverwater Correctional Centre in March 2009.
Ms Baxter, formerly known as James Drury, underwent three separate assessments after her arrest on serious drug offences.
On each occasion, she was asked about suicidal tendencies but she denied having any such thoughts.
One counsellor described her as "smiling, happy and talking", the coroner said on Monday at the NSW Coroner's Court at Glebe.
She was held in the cells at the Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills for five days before being transferred to the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre, a male facility at Silverwater.
Two days later, the 34-year-old pre-operative transgender male-to-female used a bed sheet to hang herself from a top bunk bed in her cell while awaiting classification.
Kerri Trafford, manager of offender services and programs at Silverwater, said she had never known Ms Baxter to be held in the female system during previous periods of incarceration.
In 2001, she applied to be transferred to Mulawa women's prison but later withdrew her application, and since that time had always remained in the male system, Ms Trafford said.
Mr MacMahon said he was satisfied the department "substantially complied" with its transgender policy, adding he did not intend to contribute to it.
He endorsed a recommendation that all use of the cell alert system be recorded after it emerged Ms Baxter had activated the emergency button while locked in her cell.
The inquest heard the alert system, known as knock-ups, are for emergencies only but are often used by inmates for improper purposes.
Why Ms Baxter used it is not known because it was not recorded.
Mr MacMahon said that because there was nothing to suggest she had mental health issues or was at risk of self harm, it would have been inappropriate, simply because she was transgender, to place her in an observation cell.
A spokeswoman for NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham said he welcomed the findings and the plan to implement the recommendation is well underway. View Article
* Readers seeking information on CORES courses can contact 1300 079 596. Support and information about suicide prevention can is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263).
Mystery remains in Baxter death - SSO - April 6, 2011
the online article has since been removed
A coronial inquest into the death of Indigenous trans woman Veronica Baxter that had been slated to run for two days wrapped up within hours and supporters say their questions remain unanswered.
By 2.30pm on Monday, Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon was ready to hand down his findings.
He ruled that Baxter had died by hanging at Silverwater jail between 3pm on March 15 2009 when she was locked in her cell and 6am on March 16 2009 when the cell was opened, that no third party had been involved, and that police and corrective services officers had fulfilled their responsibilities to her.
The court heard that on March 14 2009, Baxter had been screened by a corrective services officer who found her to be “smiling, happy, talkative”.
“[The corrective services officer] concluded that there were no signs here suggesting that Veronica was at risk of doing herself harm,” MacMahon said.
Baxter, who had been imprisoned before, was also assessed as at low risk of self-harm by police and when first transferred to Corrective Services custody.
Baxter told them she had “hope for the future”, no history of self-harm, and no plans to harm herself.
Ten inmates who were interviewed by a police investigator about Baxter’s mental state indicated that she “appeared to be angry about something [but] there were no indications that suggested that she intended to kill herself”.
Baxter had made a number of calls to prison staff using the emergency ‘knock-up box’ in her cell while locked into her cell but no one at the prison could remember who had answered them or what she had wanted.
In his one recommendation, MacMahon suggested that, in future, Corrective Services keep records of such calls and who responded to them.
He was also concerned that Baxter had apparently been able to hang herself using prison furniture and endorsed suggestions that furniture be further improved to remove hanging points.
Ray Jackson of the Indigenous Social Justice Association told the Star Observer that it was “a sham and a shame” that the only witnesses called had been police and corrective services officers.
Jackson and sexless activist norrie mAy-welby, who knew Baxter, said they had wanted the inquest to examine why Baxter had come to be suicidal when indications were that earlier she had not been.
They wanted to know whether Baxter had been given access to hormone medications taken by transpeople while in custody.
“She may have been withdrawing from hormones, which is a serious thing,” mAy-welby said.
Withdrawal of hormone treatment has been known to cause distress in some people.
"Sydney Star Observer has learned that the article that was previously on this page was in breach of a court order. In compliance with that order the story has been removed. Sydney Star Observer was not informed of this court order by any person representing the entity that sought it despite having identified itself as media to that entity while covering the event described in the story that was on this page. The order was sought after the event described in the story that was on this page. We have still not been contacted directly by this entity to inform it of this order, and Sydney Star Observer only learned of it through a third party.
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A list of related articles that were published online and then removed:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/this-story-has-been-removed
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/04
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/04...
http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/transgender-prisoner-denied-being-su...
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/transgender-prisoner-denied-being-suicidal/
Protest at Aboriginal trans death inquiry
SX - 28 March 2011
The inquiry follows a campaign by a coalition of activist groups demanding an inquiry be held, including the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), Sex and Gender Education (SAGE), Still Fierce, The Greens, Socialist Alliance, Socialist Alternative, and Queer Collaboration Conference 2010.
Rachel Evans of Community Action Against Homophobia is urging people to “protest this horrendous crime committed against Veronica Baxter”.
“Another black death in custody and brutalisation of a transgender woman in the Australian prison system. Come and show your anger,” Evans said.
The Indigenous Social Justice Association were more scathing of the inquiry, saying it will be a "whitewash" and "will not bring real justice for Veronica Baxter or her family".
"No police person or prison warden has ever been charged with a black death in custody," said Indigenous Social Justice Association spokesperson, Ray Jackson.
PRESS RELEASE - March 23, 2011
Aboriginal and LGBTI communities’ call for mobilisations outside Veronica Baxter’s inquiry to support her family, community and friends, in calling for justice
An inquiry into the death of Aboriginal, trangender woman, Veronica Baxter is to be held at the Glebe Coroner Court on Parramatta Road, Monday April 4th and 5th beginning at 10am.
Activist groups are calling for a mobilisation outside the Coroner’s court, at 9:30am to show anger at the injustice of Ms Baxter’s death, and to put police and prison officials on notice. Community members are able to be present at the hearing.
Ms Baxter lived as a woman for fifteen years before being arrested in Redfern, five days after Mardi Gras in 2009, and placed in Silverwater prison – an all male, maximum security prison in New South Wales. Why she was placed in an all male jail has not been answered. She was found dead, six days after being placed in the jail.
No information regarding her death has been given to her family, friends, Aboriginal or lesbian, gay, transgender or intersex communities.
A broad campaign calling for her inquiry included the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), Sex and Gender Education (SAGE), Still Fierce, The Greens, Socialist Alliance, Socialist Alternative, and Queer Collaboration Conference 2010.
It is a testament to the campaign that the coroner has set an inquiry date for April 4-5 2011. But Veronica Baxter was found hung in her cell in March 2009. Why the delay in this inquiry? What is to hide?
Ray Jackson, spokesperson for the Indigenous Social Justice Association said “This inquiry will not bring REAL justice for Veronica Baxter or her family. It will be a whitewash. No police person or prison warden has EVER been charged with a black death in custody. Look at the tragedy of the Palm Island events, six and a half years and still no justice. For this reason, we need to be present to bear witness and protest the lies and cover-up that will ensue.”
Rachel Evans, from Community Action Against Homophobia said “we call on the community to bear witness and protest this horrendous crime committed against Veronica Baxter. Another black death in custody and brutalisation of a transgender woman in the Australian prison system. Come and show your anger.”
Meet Monday April 4th 9:30am Glebe Coroners Court, 44-46 Parramatta Road, Glebe.
Call Ray Jackson 0450 651 063 or Rachel Evans 9690 1977 for more information.
Trans jail death inquest
SSO - 8 February 2011
An inquiry into the death of Indigenous transwoman Veronica Baxter will be held two years after she was found hanging in a Silverwater jail cell.
Ray Jackson, president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, told the Star Observer it was a particular concern that Baxter had been sent to Silverwater.
Jackson said he was hopeful the inquest would answer most questions surrounding Baxter’s death but not those her family most wanted answered.
“They rarely go where the family wants them to. The Coroner’s Court doesn’t particularly like finding blame in things to do with the police or prison officers.”
The Star Observer understands the rally will call for a memorial to Indigenous people who have died in custody, including Baxter, to be built in Redfern. Read article
Death in custody: Justice for Veronica Baxter!
Green Left Weekly - June 23, 2010
A press conference was held on June 23 behind NSW Parliament House calling for an inquiry into 34-year-old Veronica Baxter’s death in custody.
Activists presented 500 signatures to NSW Greens MP Sylvia Hale who undertook to present them to the New South Wales Parliament.
On March 10, 2009, three days after Mardi Gras,Veronica Baxter was arrested by Redfern police and held on remand at the all-male NSW Silverwater Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre. Six days later, after a 14-hour break between checking her cell, she was found dead, hanging in her single cell.
Veronica Baxter was an Aboriginal woman from the Cunnamulla country, south-west of Queensland. She dressed, appeared, and had identified as a woman for 15 years and was known by family and friends as a woman. Yet she was placed in an all-male jail.
Was Veronica Baxter killed in custody by trans phobic guards or inmates? No-one knows, the only way we will find out is if there is a full, open inquiry. View article
View images - Press Conference - Justice for Veronica Baxter
It’s a white man’s country yet - why the NSW media blackout?
Indy Media Centre - 21 Apr 2010
By Ray Jackson, President, Indigenous Social Justice Association
Veronica Baxter was a transwoman, who had been arrested by the Redfern police after the 2009 Mardi Gras. From the time of her arrest and her tragic and unnecessary death there is a gap of about 48 hours where it is not known the circumstances of her treatment, either by the police and/or the gaol officers.
What had brought about her alleged suicide by hanging? View article
DEATH IN CUSTODY OF VERONICA BAXTER
Parliament of New South Wales Hansard
Page: 16964 - Questions Without Notice, QWN
Ms SYLVIA HALE: I address my question to the Minister for Corrective Services. On 17 June this year I asked the Minister a question without notice relating to the death of a transgender Aboriginal woman in Silverwater Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre six days after her arrest. Despite the Minister's undertaking to provide details, and despite repeated requests to his office, no answer has been provided in the 10 weeks since I asked the question. Will the Minister now answer the following questions: Why was Ms Veronica Baxter remanded to a male-only prison in breach of departmental guidelines? Has a formal inquiry into the circumstances of her death been initiated? If so, when will the report of any such inquiry be made public?
The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: Firstly I extend my sympathies to the family and friends of Ms Baxter for their loss. Again I make it clear that any death in custody is a tragedy and something that the Government and I take very seriously. Every death in custody is appropriately investigated by the New South Wales Police Force and the New South Wales Coroner. Corrective Services New South Wales' investigation into the death in custody of Veronica Baxter has been completed and has been submitted to the Coroner for a coronial inquest. Therefore it would be inappropriate for me at this time to make any further comment until the inquest is complete. View hansard
DEATH IN CUSTODY OF VERONICA BAXTER
Parliament of New South Wales Hansard
Page: 16082 - Questions Without Notice, QWN
Ms SYLVIA HALE: I direct my question without notice to the Minister for Corrective Services. On 10 March 2009 Veronica Baxter, a transgender Aboriginal woman, was arrested at her Sydney home and charged with supplying a prohibited drug. Ms Baxter died in Silverwater Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre on 16 March 2009—six days later. Why was Ms Baxter remanded to a male-only prison in breach of departmental guidelines? Has a formal inquiry into the circumstances of her death been initiated? If so, when will the report of any such inquiry be made public?
The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: I thank the honourable member for her question. The department treats seriously every death in custody. A proper review is undertaken and an assessment made of the processes in regard to any fatality. Over many years the department has implemented a series of initiatives to remove things such as hanging points and to ensure it can reduce—
The Hon. Melinda Pavey: Did you know about this?
The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: This is a very serious matter and if the Hon. Melinda Pavey wants to hear about it, I am happy to deal with it. The department undertakes inquiries into every single death in custody. The Coroner also undertakes inquiries into deaths in custody. I undertake to obtain the relevant information and get back to Ms Sylvia Hale with the details. View hansard
