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Prison guards ignored inmate's calls for help

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Wed, 30 Nov 2011 6:11a.m.

Kingi had been in prison for just under a month when she died

Kingi had been in prison for just under a month when she died

Prison guards ignored an inmate's call for help before she died of a heart condition in her cell at Auckland Women's Corrections Facility, an inquest has been told.

The inquest at Auckland Coroner's Court into Anna Selina Kingi's death in November 2008 heard that she was found dead more than an hour after she activated her emergency alarm, Fairfax NZ reported.

A guard said she heard the alarm but was very busy so she just asked through the intercom if everything was alright. When there was no answer, she decided to ignore it.

Another guard told police that rather than make her cell check rounds, she fastened her digital ID to a broom handle and reached up and swiped the card over a sensor to make it look like she had done her rounds.

Kingi, 41, a Hamilton mother of seven and grandmother of one, had been in prison for just under a month when she died.

Cardiologist Dr Jim Stewart said Kingi had died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - an inherited disorder that causes thickening of the heart, making it hard for the heart to pump blood.

Death could be near-instant, though this was normally related to exercise. Defibrillation (shocking the heart) or CPR could have worked if performed soon enough, he told the inquest on Tuesday.

NZN

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Comments

22 Dec 2011 03:03p.m.

govt worker wrote:

A lot of you have a very skewed perception of hard working prison officers. This was one lazy person not doing their job properly and I agree the person should be held accountable, it does not the reflect the work ethic of the majority of prison officers. The officers involved did not keep their jobs.

30 Nov 2011 06:28p.m.

D KINGI wrote:

REST EASY MUM

30 Nov 2011 01:04p.m.

harriaway wrote:

i think that some one should be held accountable but it would be hard for the police charge the minister of corrections when they also hold the ministeral post for the police.Real convienant catch em punish them

30 Nov 2011 10:54a.m.

jan wrote:

Bet the guard keeps her job. Just because you are a prisoner does not wipe the fact you are still human, but it seems some guards aren't. How busy can you be when every one is locked up?. There is a duty of care when you are in charge of other people. Would there be a bigger out cry if she was a child care worker and this was a child who choked to death, and she just thought it was playing up.

30 Nov 2011 10:31a.m.

Shocking wrote:

Unforgivable I agree she should be charged for Manslaughter and nothing less.

30 Nov 2011 10:02a.m.

jeanne wrote:

Was this one of the dreaded public/private run facilities that the Corrections Union keep scaremongering about - or were these staff the unionised workers of the superior and safer public prison service?

30 Nov 2011 10:02a.m.

Martin wrote:

Inexcusable with the guard in my view should be in police custody for involuntary manslaughter. Regarding other government agencies my wife works 60 hour weeks with no morning (Or afternoon) tea and lunch at her desk just to keep her job. This is an individual case where the other guards may be slaving away to make up the slack for this individual. Using generalisation government agencies have been tightened up with management structure flattened and administration overworked. Long gone are they days of glide time and in the past I worked for the City council 6 years ago where we did have a tea break but again worked 50 plus hour weeks and sometimes weekend work to test duel test projects so they were 100% for the coming week. All paid for a 40 hour week and if lucky a half day off for Xmas shopping.

30 Nov 2011 07:09a.m.

pondering wrote:

Sad state of affairs when a grandmother is left to die like that. Too many state agencies have a rotten core of serious negligence and abuse. Our tax payer money is slurped up greedily by government employees who don't care and cant be bothered doing their jobs. They go to work to collect their pay and have extended morning teas. I doubt that grandmother was in prison for anything heinous or grievous. She died alone and frightened while those paid to help her shrugged off their duties. Probably off somewhere having a toke. Like cops and CYF workers