The lapses in memory among the witnesses were accompanied by at least 71 separate claims for penalty privilege – a legal protection that allows witnesses to coronial inquiries to refuse questions where the answers may expose them to a penalty.
Appearing before the coroner, Jayne Basheer, were corrections officers Neale McLeod, Neil Bradford and Martin Crowe, three current and former prison guards who were directly involved in the events leading up to Morrison’s death.
All
invoked the privilege when asked about their role that day – leading to tense scenes at the supreme court building in the south-west corner of Victoria Square as the hearing played out in a staccato fashion.
Over the course of proceedings both guards were told the coroner had received considerable evidence about the events of that day and were invited to either view critical documents or make statements about this evidence but both officers declined.
Both men repeatedly claimed legal protections against self-incrimination to avoid being made to answer questions about the restraint of Morrison, the transit in the prison van, or decisions around when to perform CPR.
When they were directed to answer, both men claimed they could not recall significant detail from that day.
The coroner also heard how in the hours after Morrison had been taken to hospital, Shillabeer had finished his shift and left the prison to travel to Port Augusta in order to watch a friend play in a football grand final.
Corrections officers told to give evidence at inquest Corrections officers transporting Wayne Fella Morrison in a prison van when he died will give evidence – as the dead man’s family gathered in protest.
News by Jordanna Schriever
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Subscriber only Corrections officers who were in the van with Wayne Fella Morrison before he was pulled out unresponsive can make specific claims for privilege against self-incrimination or penalty on a question by question basis, a coroner has ruled. It comes as Mr Morrison s family staged a call to action seeking a ban on the use of spit hoods in South Australia and across the country.