On 24 August 2006, George Charlie Baker, a prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

er from North Shore City, Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, fatally injured Liam Ashley, a 17-year old from North Shore in a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 prison van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...

. The murder led to criticism of the methods of transporting prisoners in New Zealand.

Background

Ian and Lorraine Ashley, Liam's parents, pressed criminal charge

Criminal charge

A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can take several forms, including:* complaint...

s against their son after he used his mother's car without permission. The Ashleys denied bail

Bail

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...

 so that their son would be sent to prison. They wished to correct the boy's behavior, and prevent additional "minor misdemeanours." Liam had previously experienced "minor trouble" with New Zealand law, and his parents believed that the prison system would be the safest place for him.

Murder

The prison authorities placed Ashley in one of four compartments of a prison van operated by Chubb Security, a company operating under contract with New Zealand officials. The van was scheduled to transport the prisoners from North Shore District Court to Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden. Ashley shared the compartment with two other men, one of whom, George Baker, was classified as a dangerous criminal. Baker attacked Ashley, strangling and stomping on the boy. The victim sustained severe brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

 injuries. The following day, August 25, at 10:30, his family chose to remove Ashley from life support

Life support

Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...

; Liam Ashley died at 10:45.

Aftermath

Baker said that he attacked Ashley because he believed the boy was a "nark

Informant

An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...

." He freely admitted to killing Ashley and received a minimum 18 year sentence. Damien O'Connor

Damien O'Connor

Damien Peter O'Connor is a New Zealand politician from the West Coast of the South Island. He is a member of the Labour Party and a Member of Parliament.-Early years:...

, the corrections minister, described the fatal injury as "senseless" and "preventable."

Chubb, the security company that operated the van, faced criticism in the aftermath of the attack. In June 2007 the company announced that it no longer wished to transport prisoners as contracted with New Zealand authorities.

In 2007, John Belgrave

John Belgrave

Maurice "John" Belgrave, DCNZM , was a senior public servant and Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand.-Education:...

, chief ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

 of the New Zealand Department of Corrections and Mel Smith, the ombudsman of the department, conducted an inquiry into the Department of Corrections's policy for transporting prisoners. Belgrave described the Corrections' prisoner transport policies as "inhumane", and ordered a review of the system. After publication of the report, Simon Power

Simon Power

Simon James Power is a New Zealand politician. He is a prominent member of the National Party and a cabinet minister. He currently holds the posts of Minister of Justice, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Minister of Commerce, Minister Responsible for the Law Commission andAssociate Minister...

, a Justice & Corrections spokesman, asked O'Connor to resign due to the shortcomings in his department, though he stopped short of saying that O'Connor was directly responsible for Ashley's death. Power criticized the system for failing to keep Ashley, a first time offender, and Baker, a high-risk prisoner, separated.

In response to Ashley's death New Zealand authorities began testing waist prisoner restraints.

Following his conviction, Baker has remained in the public spotlight after several further violent incidents inside Auckland Prison. In July 2008, while returning to Auckland Prison from Auckland City Hospital

Auckland City Hospital

The Auckland City Hospital is Auckland's main hospital and the largest hospital in New Zealand, as well as one of the oldest medical facilities of the country. It is a publicly funded hospital, run by the Auckland District Health Board since 2001...

 after being treated for self-inflicted injuries, Baker pulled a concealed shiv

Shiv (weapon)

A shiv is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. However, the word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world...

 on a prison officer in an attempt to escape. The prison officer received minor injuries and Baker was returned to Auckland Prison. On 27 August 2009, Baker took a fellow inmate in Auckland Prison hostage with a makeshift knife and two razor blades. Police managed to defuse the situation and nobody was harmed in the incident.

External links

• "Investigation into the death of prisoner Liam Ashley." New Zealand Department of Corrections
• INVESTIGATION BY JOHN BELGRAVE, CHIEF OMBUDSMAN AND MEL SMITH, OMBUDSMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IN RELATION TO THE TRANSPORT OF PRISONERS." Parliament of New Zealand
  Parliament of New Zealand
  The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
  
  .