Harvey
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Harvey, in his 60s, is from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and has schizophrenia. He’s been on a Disability Support Pension since the mid-1990s.
In the early 2000s, Harvey spent a few years in prison on drug offences. He tried unsuccessfully to appeal the conviction. He told the Royal Commission the court proceedings were unfair.
‘They called me a liar and they forgot to assess properly. My lawyer … he bug up all the system and represent me to convict me.’
Harvey said prisoners bashed him up as soon as he arrived at the prison.
‘They tried to kill me. And I asked protection and they send me to the most secure, secure, secure … highest security unit.’
Harvey was in a lot of pain, but said he wasn’t given any medical care.
‘With the disability, or for my accidents which I had in my past … I have aches, head, body, everywhere … I wasn't respected, and not even painkillers they give me. What they did, they torture me. They doesn't want to give me my, um, painkiller. They doesn't want me to talk. They put me in a cell with, ah, [someone] next door yelling me, “I kill you now” … They torture me with that sound.’
Harvey eventually got painkillers when his doctor visited the prison and spoke with officers. But he still didn’t receive treatment or supports for his mental health.
‘How we talk mental health when they daily basics was torture?’ he asks.
Harvey said he had to focus on ‘how to survive’, as inmates and officials abused him ‘hundreds of times’.
‘The guards they want to kill you. And they bash you up. They torture you.’
Once ‘a big, big, big guy’ caught him.
‘Put me in the storeroom, where is the broom and rubbish bag. Put you there and put a plastic bag on your neck, pick you up, and then they said you can take that off or leave it there. And then he said, “You hang up yourself.”’
Harvey said other prisoners died from this kind of treatment.
‘Two guys jump in your room, they close the door, um, the video security is off, ah, in five minutes you are off and then they run and, ah, go and play soccer, and they kill you … and they said it's, um, death in custody.’
Harvey said that one time security officers raped and bashed him.
‘They put something that put me to sleep and they have sexual [relations] with me. I wake up in the morning with such a big pain on the leg for how much they push me in the wall.’
Harvey’s advocate told the Royal Commission prison is not the right place for someone with schizophrenia.
‘His mental health has been really bad since. He's had psychosis, anxiety, panic attacks, really serious pain and a lot of depression as a result of what happened to him.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.