Australian Aborigine in chains at uncle's funeral

October 18, 2000
Web posted at: 8:33 AM HKT (0033 GMT)

SYDNEY, Oct 18 (Reuters) -- An Aborigine serving a six month jail term for breaching parole was taken handcuffed and chained to her uncle's funeral in Australia, sparking a public outcry and forcing a state prisons minister to apologize on Wednesday.

"While handcuffs may have been appropriate, chains are a breach of policy," Queensland state prisons minister Tom Barton told Reuters on Wednesday. Barton said chains were only appropriate when a high-risk prisoner was outside jail.

Aborigine Veronica Barlow, a medium security prisoner in jail for assault, was last Friday driven handcuffed and chained from jail to her uncle's funeral at Yarrabah in far north Australia.

"I have apologized personally to Mrs Barlow this morning," said Barton, adding he intended to change the law to prevent jail managers deciding whether prisoners are chained when transported.

Barlow was an hour late arriving at the funeral and forced her to leave the ceremony before her uncle had been buried.

Barlow's mother Mona said the experience had been traumatic.

"She had got taken away from the funeral when my brother was half buried," Mona told Australian radio.

"We as a family, we usually stay there until the grave is properly buried, flowers on top and that's how we leave it. So, I was really torn in two that day," she said.

Barton said the government would refund Barlow's mother the A$1,000 (US$0.51) she paid to have her daughter flown from Townsville's jail to Yarrabah.

"It is clear my department was in error," he said.

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