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Lawyers for the guards questioned MacPherson about whether he could have misunderstood.
MacPherson, however, insisted the words had âstuck in his mindâ over the past five years and that he read the conversation as a direction.
He also said that when Chapman had asked another guard about the physical status of Morrison after he had learned he was hospitalised, his tone lacked empathy.
In a statement given to police earlier this month partially read out in the inquest, MacPherson had recalled that Chapman had asked, âheâs not dead is he?â and said the comment âseemed to be said in frustration of the scrutiny and paperwork that a fatality would bringâ.
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.
Guard refuses to answer questions at inquest A guard who was inside a prison van before a prisoner was pulled out unresponsive has refused to answer questions at an inquest into the man’s death.
Crime by Kathryn Bermingham
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Subscriber only Corrections officers inside a prison van with a man before he was pulled out unresponsive are refusing to answer questions because they do not want to cooperate with an inquest into the man s death, a court has heard. Officers who transported Wayne Fella Morrison have been ordered to give evidence at a coronial inquest, but are allowed to claim privilege on a question-by-question basis to avoid self-incrimination.