MEDIA RELEASE
Monday 16 September 2024
An inquest into the death of 47-year-old Aboriginal woman Tammy Michelle Shipley begins today at the NSW State Coroner’s Court in Lidcombe.
Tammy passed away on 20 December 2022 in a cell at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre, where she was being held on remand. The Coroner is expected to hear medical evidence that she died of hyponatremia as a result of the excessive consumption of water.
“Tammy was a mum of five, a daughter, a sister, a grandma of two and an aunty. Her kids were so important to her,” said Tammy’s mum Vicki Shipley.
“She was the sort of person who if you were in need, would give her last penny, put a roof over your head and give you a bed to sleep in. No matter what.
“Tammy was a person that had a lot of trauma in her life and struggled with mental illness from when she was a teenager,” Vicki said.
“I want accountability. I want changes to be made so this doesn’t happen to anyone else experiencing mental health issues,” she said.
The Aboriginal Legal Service is representing Tammy’s family in the coronial inquest, which will be looking into issues including the adequacy of responses from Campbelltown Community Mental Health in the lead up to her incarceration, and the adequacy of the policies and actions of Corrective Services NSW and Justice Health from the time Tammy was detained up until her death.
More than 570 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in prisons and police operations since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
“We stand with Tammy’s family and her community,” said Nadine Miles, Principal Legal Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited.
“No one should pass away alone on a cold prison floor, forcibly separated from their loved ones. Yet this has been the reality for too many Aboriginal people,” Ms Miles said.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Bart Denaro [email protected] 0427 950 312
Alyssa Robinson [email protected] 0427 346 017
Tammy’s family have given media permission to publish the following photo:
