No more discounted sentences for WA criminals due to overcrowded jails
Despite some of Western Australia's prisons being "overstretched and under-resourced", judges can no longer give criminals reduced sentences because of these conditions, the state's Court of Appeal rules.
Three senior judges in Western Australia have ruled that prison sentences should no longer be reduced due to overcrowding and other issues in state jails. However, this decision does not mean the judges are satisfied with the conditions in which prisoners are held. Corrective Services Minister and Attorney-General Tony Buti has announced that the government will invest in infrastructure to improve prison conditions.
Earlier this year, a prisons watchdog reported that prisoners were being treated to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" in three jails due to the government's failure to address the system's "almost functionally broken" state. Some judges had taken into account these conditions when sentencing criminals, such as Mihael Vrhovsek, who received a 16-year jail term for attempted murder.
However, the Court of Appeal has now stated that these conditions should not be considered in most cases. The judges emphasized that their decision does not endorse the current prison conditions and expressed concern for the well-being of prisoners. They also stressed that the issue extends beyond individual cases and called for more investment in services and programs to assist prisoners rather than making their conditions intolerable.
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