Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in solidarity with us against the issue of state sanctioned brutality. Systemic change is long overdue.
At least 441 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since the Royal Commission handed down its finding in 1991. These aren’t just numbers to us: these are our Elders, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children.
No police officer or authority has ever been held criminally responsible. The legal system is so entrenched with systemic racism that Aboriginal people are the most incarcerated people in the world. Yet when one of our loved ones dies in the custody of police officers, prison guards or medical officers, there is no accountability.
Families Of 15 Indigenous People Who Died In Custody Demand To Talk To ScoMo
They say the lack of action from the government, 30 years on from the Royal Commission, can no longer be ignored.
We missed you too. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, so you always know where to find us.
Fifteen Indigenous families who have lost loved ones in the care of police or the corrections system have joined together to demand that Prime Minister Scott Morrison meet with them on the anniversary of the Royal Commission into deaths in custody.
The families say it’s time the government sat down and had an honest conversation with them about why Blak people continue to die in police custody, and explain why a government inquiry didn’t prevent a further 441 deaths.
Almost thirty years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 15 families who have lost loved ones are calling on the Prime Minister to meet with them.
Troy Jungaji Brady is the nephew of Birri Gubba woman Aunty Sherry Fisher-Tilberoo, who died in Brisbane City Watchhouse in September.
Mr Brady said addressing the crisis of deaths in custody is a matter of urgency. Why are so many of our people over-policed and overincarcerated and overrepresented, he said. In this day and age it s deplorable and something needs to be done. It s a national emergency that demands national action.