WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this post contains the image of a person who has died.
As the case opens into the killing by a corrective services officer of prisoner Dwayne Johnston, I’ll be reading - in astonishment, no doubt - as the defence tries to get away with murder. Mr Johnston, a Wiradjuri man, was shot and killed by the NSW prison officer assigned to guard him, after Johnston attempted to escape detention, outside Lismore Base Hospital in 2019. Johnston, was 57 years old, was handcuffed and shackled at the legs during this so-called escape attempt, when he shoved the accused - ‘Officer A’ - and ran for it, having been treated at Lismore Hospital in northern NSW, following an apparent epileptic seizure.
Bravely the seizing the moment, Officer A - who has pleaded not guilty to murder - responded to being pushed over, by firing three bullets at the handcuffed and shackled Mr Johnston, who was running away from him. With the unerring marksmanship for which the officers of NSW Corrective Services are renowned, the first two shots missed their intended target (and could easily have hit innocent passers-by). But with the service’s hallmark perfectionism and devotion to duty, Officer A fired a third shot, which hit Mr Johnston in the back, killing him.
Dwayne Johnston (centre) was shot and killed by a NSW Corrective Officer
How it’s possible to shoot an unarmed, handcuffed and shackled man in the back and not call it murder, seems to me a tall order, but that’s exactly what defence lawyers will do, citing a regulation that allows prison officers to use lethal force in the event of an attempted escape. The officer was, they will contend, simply ‘doing his duty’.
The Crown alleges Mr Johnstone posed no risk to any person and Officer A had no lawful excuse to shoot him.
I know what I think, and I’m pretty sure I know what Dwayne Johnston’s family think, but an unprecedented decision by the NSW coroner to refer the killing to criminal law, speaks volumes in itself. Of course, those of us with even basic insight into these matters, stand with Dwayne Johnston’s family in their quest to find some measure of justice for their slain son.
The trial continues.
LINKS
Corrections officer charged over shooting of Dwayne Johnstone was doing his ‘duty’, court told - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-20/trial-for-officer-charged-over-shooting-of-dwayne-johnstone/101557248)
An Australian First: Prison Officer Charged With Manslaughter Over Aboriginal Custodial Death https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/an-australian-first-prison-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-over-aboriginal-custodial-death/
Stop Aboriginal Deaths In Custody https://www.facebook.com/groups/101045695001