Nathan Reynolds’ passion for replacing U.S. military veterans’ broken or missing headstones took him to a little-known graveyard for foreigners in the Horn of Africa.
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In a devastating and traumatic period of just six days, Australia recorded three more Indigenous deaths in custody.
The death of a woman in her 50s on 5 March followed that of a man in his 30s on 2 March. It came to light through questioning in a state budget estimates hearing.
It prompted an outpouring of grief across the country and sadness about how so many deaths could happen in such a short space of time, three decades on from a damning royal commission.
Questions were asked about how Indigenous people could still be dying inside prison in 2021, mere months after tens of thousands of Australians marched in rallies demanding an end to racial inequality.
The family of Nathan Reynolds, who died in custody after suffering a severe asthma attack, say they will continue to pursue justice.
After the coroner handed down her findings on Thursday morning, Makayla and Taleah Reynolds - Nathan s sisters - told NITV News the inquest into their brother s death may be over, but their fight is not. Our fight is not done, Taleah Reynolds said. This isn t the end for us at all. There s a lot more work to do around deaths in custody. We ll continue to fight after this.
The family of Nathan Reynolds.
Source: AAP Losing him has left a huge hole in the lives of our family, Taleah said.
The NSW deaths only came to light after Greens MLC David Shoebridge asked Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin at a NSW budget estimates on March 9.
Severin defended authorities’ silence saying that it was “not appropriate” to advise the public of deaths without any detail and “cause a lot of anger, a lot of angst and a lot of grief”.
Karly Warner, spokesperson for the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS), called for government accountability. “While identification of people who die in custody must be up to families, the government should be more transparent and timely in the information they share with the public,” she said on March 9.