Treatment at Auckland Women’s Prison ‘degrading’ and ‘inhumane’ – judge

Auckland Women’s Prison treated inmates in a “degrading,” “cruel” and “inhumane” manner in a “concerted effort to break their spirit,” according to a stinging ruling from a district court judge, RNZ reveals. According to Manukau District Court Judge David McNaughton, corrections broke its own rules and regulations multiple times in its treatment of Mihi Bassett and Karma Cripps, who were gassed in their cells and forced to perform a humiliating ritual in order to be fed. The judge’s ruling also confirms the women had to remove their underwear in front of male guards in order to get clean pairs and were, at times, denied toiletries and sanitary products.