By Alesha Capone
A Port Phillip Prison inmate has asked to be released, citing the reason that his health could be in danger if he catches the coronavirus while behind bars.
The Supreme Court heard Mark Rowson’s application on April 29, and delivered an interim decision on the matter earlier this month.
The court heard Rowson, now 52, has heart disease including chronic atrial fibrillation, angina, asthma, poor blood pressure and decreased renal function.
He has also been prone to lung infections and pneumonia throughout his life.
During 2018, Rowson was sentenced to five years, three months and 14 days in prison, after being convicted of 23 charges of theft and defrauding a sick friend out of $290,976.
However, Rowson is now seeking orders to release him from Port Phillip Prison in Truganina “because of his health risks, including the risk that he will die, if he is infected with the Covid-19 virus”.
Rowson said, if released, he would live at his mother’s house under strict conditions imposed by Corrections Victoria.
In his application for release, Mr Rowson said there were a number of breaches of hygiene occurring in his prison unit.
Supreme Court Justice Timothy Ginnane said authorities have taken a number of protective measures to address the risk of prisoners catching Covid-19, but that according to Mr Rowson’s evidence, there appeared to be “a gap between what policy anticipates should occur and what is actually occurring, at least in his unit”.
Justice Ginnane said that although no cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Victoria’s prisons, the risk was “not insignificant”.
Justice Ginnane said that before a final hearing of Rowson’s application for release could be held, a risk assessment of the threat of Covid-19 at Port Phillip Prison must be carried out.
He also said the recommendations of the assessment must be implemented by the prison’s operators, G4S.
He said that he did not believe Rowson should be released in the meantime.
Justice Ginnane said this was because Rowson still has much of his sentence left to serve.
In addition, he said the means by which Rawson could remain in the Department of Justice Secretary’s custody outside of prison were “not clear”.
