MYTH: “EVERYONE IN PRISON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY” 1,680 people in New Zealand pri
MYTH: “EVERYONE IN PRISON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY” 1,680 people in New Zealand prisons are on remand without conviction. This means that they are being held in prison before they have even been found guilty of anything. The recent “tough on crime” reforms, such as the Bail Amendment Act 2013, have made this even worse. Between September 2013, when the bill was introduced, and September 2016, 77.49% of the increase in the prison population was due to a rise in the number of people being held on remand. This increase in the prison population, now at 10,000, has created an overcrowding crisis. This crisis has been used to justify housing multiple people in tiny cells and denying them access to fresh air. Right now, it is being used to justify the building of a new facility at Waikeria Prison, which will house 1,500 more prisoners. Since this bill came into effect, the remand population alone has increased by more than 1,000 people! The current overcrowding crisis is the result of a cruel piece of government policy. While the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act states that a person must be presumed innocent until proven guilty, 1,680 prisoners are being punished as though they had been found guilty anyway. The government now wants to justify degrading and torturing 1,500 more prisoners with this blatant breach of human rights! This is unacceptable. We demand the repealment of the Bail Amendment Act. http://ift.tt/2kmNt9C -- source link
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