Mother Of Indigenous Man Who Died In Custody Was Told There Was “Nothing To Worry About”
His mother had raised concerns about Jomen Blanket's mental health, and was told he was being "well looked after".
The family of an Indigenous man who died in custody hope an inquest starting on Tuesday will finally shed light on his final hours.
— Content Warning: This story discusses suicide. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of a person who has died. —
Noongar and Torres Strait Islander man Jomen Blanket passed away in his cell at the age of 30, in Western Australian facility Acacia Prison in 2019.
His mother Karen had visited him a month before his death in May, afterwards raising concern to staff that she feared her son would take his own life, only to be told he was in a 24-hour care unit. Come mid-June, police had come knocking on her door telling her he had committed suicide.
“What I don’t understand is, there was a camera in front his bedroom door on the corner — why didn’t it see him?” she said to SBS News a year later. “They didn’t do their job properly, there was lack of duty of care. I don’t care what anyone says,” she said. “They said they’d watch him 24 hours [a day] and they didn’t.”
Karen reflected to the AAP on Monday that officers had assured her that he was “alright” and “well looked after”, telling her there was “nothing to worry about”.
She said her family had only recently learnt of how many times Jomen had attempted self-harm while at the privately owned facility run by Serco, and that his request to spend time with his uncle also inside of Acacia was rejected.
He was described by his mother as being devoted to his two sons and daughter, and recalled how he had appeared in advertisements for mental health services, worked for a youth support service, and was working towards entering the mental health support space.
“Mr Blanket’s family know how desperately he needed mental health care and treatment. They were talking to him regularly and that’s an area where they want to see change,” said principal solicitor representing his family, George Newhouse to the AAP.
A quarter of all Aboriginal prisoners in Western Australia are being held at Acacia, according to the National Indigenous Times. In March, it was revealed a taskforce aimed at preventing suicide and self-harm across all WA prisons had not met in the six months prior.
“We understand the psychological and mental health well-being of many of the young Aboriginal detainees are at a low at present and we wish to be able to access the facility to speak to them to help reduce risk of self-harm and or suicidal ideation,” said chief executive at Ngalla Maya Aboriginal Corporation, Mervyn Eades at the time.
If this story affected you, you can contact the following services. In an emergency, call 000.
- Lifeline (24-hour Crisis Line): 13 11 14
- National Indigenous Postvention Service: 1800 805 801
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
- 13Yarn: 13 92 76
- Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
- YouthLink: (08) 9227 4300