Justice is blind

By Danny Buttler
A BLIND Narre Warren man is outraged at being banned from visiting an intellectually disabled prisoner.
John Hardie is a volunteer prisonvisitor who was the sole outsidecontact for Melbourne Remand Centre prisoner Paul Flood, who is also from Narre Warren.
Mr Flood, who is on remand while waiting a court hearing, has no family or friends other than Mr Hardie.
The separation has caused a great deal of grief to both men.
“It’s ruined my life in the last five months and has an even bigger impact on Paul Flood, who is struggling,” Mr Hardie said.
“He lost his mother less than two years ago and has no-one else on the outside world.”
Apart from the distress caused by the separation, Mr Hardie claims both he and his seeing-eye dog were the subject of taunts during their last visit to the remand centre.
The incidents happened while he was in the visitor reception area.
According to Mr Hardie, a corrections officer said, “you’d think there were already enough dogs in here”.
Later, he claims, another officer said, “you would think they would find better people to visit”.
Mr Hardie made an official complaint about the incidents to the Justice Department. He believes that the ban on visits to Mr Flood is connected to the complaint.
Mr Hardie provided the News with a letter from Dr Mat Gelman who said the visitation ban had had a detrimental effect on his patient’s health.
“I am very concerned for John in terms of the distress that is being caused by his inability to be in contact with Paul Flood,” the letter stated.
“He is Paul’s sole carer and advocate and I know, in that I have had recent contact with Paul via video conference, that Paul is much wanting and needing contact with John.”
After approaches by the News, the Justice Department responded: “Corrections Victoria can ban visits and communication between visitors and a prisoner if these actions threaten the security and good order of a prison or the safety of the visitor or prisoner.”