The man was 33 when he died at the Silverwater Correctional Complex in 2023. Photo: Google Maps.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to suicide, mental health and contains the name of a First Nations person who has died.
A First Nations man was left devastated by the alleged actions of Canberra prison guards before he later died in the NSW prison system, a coronial inquest has heard.
Tian-Jarrah ‘TJ’ Denniss was just 33 when he took his own life while he was in custody at the Silverwater Correctional Centre in Sydney on 5 August 2023.
“There is so much more to his life than just his premature death,” counsel assisting Kirsten Edwards SC said when the inquest began on Monday (8 September).
“He was deeply loved. [He had] a big imagination and a big heart.”
Denniss was in custody at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) in 2018 when he was told guards were overheard mocking him by allegedly playing a hangman game that used his name.
In this game, stick figures on a boat were depicted celebrating a man hanging nearby.
Ms Edwards alleged the guards had been laughing at the game and wishing it were true. She said the incident had a devastating impact on Denniss.
The Wagga Wagga-born Wiradjuri man endured a traumatic childhood, struggled with his mental health, experimented with drugs and spent most of his adult life in custody.
He requested to be transferred to the NSW prison system to be closer to family, which took place in 2021. Then, he was moved between different correctional facilities 17 times over the next two years.
He was housed in more than 100 different cells in the last year of his life.
Denniss made several attempts to take his own life in the weeks before his death. After a corrective services officer found him unresponsive in his cell at Silverwater, it took that officer over one-and-a-half minutes to radio for help.
Four guards arrived, but they didn’t enter the cell under the mistaken belief that their policy required them to wait for other staff, Ms Edwards said.
Nurses arrived 10 minutes after the original officer was alerted to his state in his cell, but he couldn’t be revived.
Ms Edwards said Denniss desperately wanted to see his family, but his family’s appointments with him were often cancelled because he was moved around. The COVID-19 pandemic also affected visits.
“He never, never got a single in-person visit with his family, or in that fact anyone, during this time in NSW custody,” the counsel assisting said.
“[He] was desperate to connect.”
Tian-Jarrah Denniss was held at the Alexander Maconochie Centre before he was transferred to NSW. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
He did have the ability to call family from his cell, which he would start doing from 6 am. He told a family member that he found it very hard to be alone and just wanted someone to talk to.
“He always just wanted conversation,” another family member said.
He even formed a bond with a skink, a small lizard that he captured in a prison yard and wanted to keep as a pet.
He wrote a letter to a family member on the day before he died, in which he spoke about how he was getting a compensation payout – likely due to the alleged hangman incident in the ACT – and wanted to share the money with his family.
“I love your guts with all my heart,” he wrote.
Ms Edwards said Denniss was usually designated a segregation inmate because corrective services found it difficult to manage his safety. He was also a challenging inmate who was sometimes violent to staff and his behaviour could anger his fellow inmates.
In the weeks before his death, he headbutted one corrective services officer, injured another when kicking at his cell door, and then tried to escape on another occasion.
A psychologist said they saw a reduction in his negative behaviours after he had been interacting with other inmates.
Ms Edward said Denniss would often say his motivation was that he was bored and he wanted corrective services staff to attend his cell so he could make requests of them.
She said Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan may find his death was preventable.
The inquest is expected to run for several weeks.
In 2023, the ACT Coroner also said an inquest would be held in the Territory into Denniss’ death.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact:
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800 or kidshelpline.com.au
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978 or mensline.org.au.
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