July 06, 2016
Sentencing lobby lacks moral compass
Greens co-leader Metiria Turei says the Sensible Sentencing Trust’s crusade against gang members working in prisons is destructive and shows the organisation’s lack of moral compass.
A complaint from the lobby group about Black Power member Ngapari Nui running wellness and counselling sessions for inmates at Whanganui Prison led to him being suspended and Corrections Minster Judith Collins ordering a review of all prisons.
Ms Turei says on one hand Sensible Sentencing will stand up for a man who killed a youth tagging his garage, while on the other it attacks people working effectively to address the roots of crime.
"Anybody who works with prisoners in particular and people who are in th the gang culture or networked in there know that who they listen to are people who understand their lives, who have been there, who have made the step away, who really understand what it is like to be them in order to help them work through what steps they can take, and that is why it is so important you have people from the gang culture being involved with them and helping them make that transition," she says.
Ms Turei also slated Corrections for failing to stand up for its own vetting process.
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