Justice Denied: The Ongoing Tragedy of Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
The recent settlement of a lawsuit against NSW prisons over the death of Nathan Reynolds (an Aboriginal inmate) underscores the persistent failures in Australia’s justice system.

最近，新南威爾士州監(jiān)獄就原住民囚犯內(nèi)森-雷諾茲死亡一案達(dá)成和解，這凸顯了澳大利亞司法系統(tǒng)的長期失誤。
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Because despite the settlement, neither Justice Health NSW nor Corrective Services NSW admitted liability for the 36-year-old’s death that occurred due to an acute asthma attack at the Geoffrey Pearce prison in northwest Sydney.

因為盡管達(dá)成了和解，但新南威爾士州司法健康部門和新南威爾士州懲教服務(wù)部門均不承認(rèn)對這名 36 歲囚犯在悉尼西北部的杰弗里-皮爾斯監(jiān)獄因急性哮喘發(fā)作而死亡負(fù)責(zé)。

So the tragic death of Reynolds is part of a broader, alarming pattern… and since the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 more than 540 Indigenous Australians have died while in custody, which highlights systemic issues within the justice and healthcare systems where Indigenous people continue to face disproportionately high risks.

因此，雷諾茲的悲慘死亡是更廣泛、更令人震驚的模式的一部分，自 1991 年皇家土著居民羈押期間死亡事件調(diào)查委員會得出結(jié)論以來，已有 540 多名澳大利亞土著居民在羈押期間死亡，這凸顯了司法和醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)中的系統(tǒng)性問題，土著居民在這些系統(tǒng)中仍然面臨著不成比例的高風(fēng)險。

Reynolds’ case settled confidentially with his widow Karen Pochodyla, serves as a grim reminder of the consequences of inadequate healthcare in prisons… and the findings from the 2020 inquest revealed that Reynolds did not receive the urgent medical attention he desperately needed because when he raised the alarm, prison staff delayed contacting medical professionals, adhering to protocols that prioritised assessment over immediate action and by the time help arrived, Reynolds’ condition had deteriorated to the point of no return.

雷諾茲的案件是與他的遺孀卡倫-波喬迪拉秘密解決的，這是對監(jiān)獄中醫(yī)療保健不足所造成后果的一個嚴(yán)峻提醒。2020 年的調(diào)查結(jié)果顯示，雷諾茲沒有得到他急需的緊急醫(yī)療護(hù)理，因為當(dāng)他發(fā)出警報時，監(jiān)獄工作人員遲遲沒有聯(lián)系醫(yī)療專業(yè)人員，他們遵守的規(guī)程是優(yōu)先評估而不是立即行動，當(dāng)救援人員趕到時，雷諾茲的病情已經(jīng)惡化到無法挽回的地步。

Hence, the coroner’s report emphasised the distress felt by Reynolds’ family, knowing that a lack of timely medical intervention robbed him of a chance at survival… but the case (like many others) illustrates the intersection of health and justice failures where the lives of Indigenous Australians are often treated as expendable.

因此，驗尸官的報告強(qiáng)調(diào)了雷諾茲家人所感受到的痛苦，因為他們知道缺乏及時的醫(yī)療干預(yù)剝奪了他生存的機(jī)會，但該案件（與許多其他案件一樣）說明了醫(yī)療和司法失誤的交叉問題，在這種情況下，土著澳大利亞人的生命往往被視為可有可無。

So this settlement, although providing some financial relief to Reynolds’ family does little to address the broader issues that continue to plague the justice system because the absence of liability admission by the state entities involved signals a reluctance to fully acknowledge the systemic flaws that contribute to such tragedies.

因此，此次和解雖然為雷諾茲的家人提供了一定的經(jīng)濟(jì)救濟(jì)，但對于解決繼續(xù)困擾司法系統(tǒng)的更廣泛問題卻作用甚微，因為涉案的國家實體不承認(rèn)責(zé)任，這表明他們不愿完全承認(rèn)導(dǎo)致此類悲劇發(fā)生的系統(tǒng)性缺陷。

And the repeated failures, highlighted by the ongoing deaths in custody, call for urgent reform with many Indigenous communities, advocates and legal experts have long demanded that the Australian government take meaningful steps to prevent further loss of life, which includes ensuring that healthcare in custody is both timely and adequate and that protocols prioritise the wellbeing of inmates over bureaucratic procedures.

許多土著社區(qū)、倡導(dǎo)者和法律專家長期以來一直要求澳大利亞政府采取有意義的措施，防止更多的生命損失，其中包括確保羈押期間的醫(yī)療保健既及時又充分，并確保規(guī)程優(yōu)先考慮囚犯的福祉，而不是官僚程序。

Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

在押土著人死亡事件

So as Australia reflects on these ongoing tragedies, the legacy of the Royal Commission remains a stark reminder of the promises yet to be fulfilled… and until these systemic issues are addressed, the cycle of Indigenous deaths in custody will likely continue, perpetuating a deep sense of injustice and loss within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

因此，當(dāng)澳大利亞反思這些持續(xù)發(fā)生的悲劇時，皇家委員會遺留下來的問題仍在嚴(yán)酷地提醒著我們，承諾尚未兌現(xiàn)，在這些系統(tǒng)性問題得到解決之前，土著居民在羈押期間死亡的循環(huán)很可能會繼續(xù)下去，使土著居民和托雷斯海峽島民社區(qū)內(nèi)深深的不公正感和失落感長期存在。