Inmate’s horrific act after 700 days alone

By Rohan Smith

Within South Australia’s only maximum security prison, the G Division is the most notorious.

This section is subjected to the highest and strictest security because it is home to the state’s worst criminals — serial killers and rapists and white supremacists spend time here.

It has been labelled “hell on earth” by a former prisoner.

One current inmate — isolated in G Division for more than 700 days — has become so distraught that he has chewed off his own finger.

Robert William Junior Barnes, 39, “chewed off his pinky finger down to the knuckle”, according to two people who spent time with him in prison recently.

Aboriginal elder Uncle Moogy Sumner, who visited him in G Division, told news.com.au “he chewed it right off”.

Aboriginal Liaison Officer Melanie Turner, who also spent time with Barnes in G Division, also confirmed the grim details to news.com.au.

Both said Barnes is suffering greatly while being confined to his cell 23 hours a day with “no TV and no entertainment” and has attempted to take his own life on multiple occasions.

Compounding the problem, they say, is a recent decision by the South Australian Department of Corrections to ban both Uncle Moogy and Ms Turner from visiting the inmate again.

“He’s got a lot of problems. If you’re in jail, you’re not there for being an angel,” Uncle Moogy said.

“But he’s got problems because of how he was getting treated.”

That treatment, according to Ms Turner, could lead to another Aboriginal death in custody.

Ms Turner, who was employed by the Department of Corrections, has written a letter to David Brown, the Corrections CEO.

In it, she expresses her “deep disappointment and frustration” at being “hindered in performing my role as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer at Yatala Labour Prison”.

“You may be aware of the recent ban on ALOs from accessing G Division, where prisoners are at their most vulnerable and require ALO intervention,” she wrote.“This decision was made … without consulting intervention staff, correctional officers or management.

“In the past few weeks, a long-term prisoner (Barnes) in G Division has self-harmed and attemped suicide twice.

“He pleaded … to see me for ALO intervention. I emailed my manager to request permission to enter G Division to meet with this prisoner, with whom I have established a good rapport, but I was denied.”

She says it was “heartbreaking and soul-crushing” that she is unable to fulfill a role designed at preventing Aboriginal deaths in custody and that Barnes has not been told why she cannot visit him.

“This poor individual believes that his ALO support network has abandoned him,” she wrote.

Uncle Moogy told news.com.au Barnes “is in a bad way mentally” and was benefitting from his visits.

“I went up there to talk about culture, where he’s from, the traditional ways. And I found out he’s connected to my way, too,” he said.

“It was working out well. He enjoyed me going there, talking to him once a week. We’re both connected to the Adnyamathanha people from the Flinders Ranges.”

He is worried what Barnes will do now that he’s stop visiting.

The crime that landed Barnes behind bars at G Division was a violent one that involved throwing a cup of urine in the face of a prison officer at Port Augusta prison in 2021.

The Adelaide Advertiser reported last year that Barnes was jailed for over a decade after a brawl that left his victim in hospital suffering a fractured eye socket and requiring surgery.

Less than a month while at the Adelaide Remand Centre, Barnes attempted to bite off his own finger, the Advertiser reported, before a corrections officer pinned his arms.

Barnes punched him to the left side of his body and ear, causing it to bleed and yelled “I’m going to f***ing bite your ear off”.

He reportedly used a metal pipe from a vacuum cleaner to hit an officer over the head three times.

Barnes pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including causing harm with intent and assaulting an emergency worker.

At his sentencing, District Court Judge Paul Slattery said Barnes was at “extreme risk” of becoming institutionalised.

“Unfortunately, the combination of your criminal history, ongoing struggles with mental health and propensity to violent behaviour reveals a high risk of recidivism,” he said.

He will not be eligible for parole until at least 2027.

“If he (takes his own life), he doesn’t get out then,” Uncle Moogy said.

He, along with Ms Turner, organised a meeting with the South Australian Attorney General Kyam Maher last week.

Uncle Moogy said he was determined to advocate for Ms Turner to “get back to her job”.

“I think it’d be good if she went back. She’s got that boy on her mind the whole time.”

News.com.au has approached the South Australian Department of Corrections for comment.

In a statement, a spokesperson said “cultural support from Aboriginal staff … continues to be part of the multi-disciplinary service to Aboriginal prisoners placed in the maximum-security unit.

“Aboriginal Liaison Officers perform their duties across the prison based on guidance by the General Manager and senior Managers. Where appropriate, this service includes seeing prisoners in the maximum-security unit.

“DCS values the contribution Elders make to our prisons, including site visits.”

The spokesperson said prison officials had “been seeking a meeting with Uncle Moogy to discuss his concerns and to make sure he can continue his important work and support”.

The Department did not respond to specific questions about Barnes’ self-harming or his suicide attempts.

“The Department cannot comment on individual prisoners under the Correctional Services Act,” they said.

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