Prison hunger strike: Dean Wickliffe tells supporters he’s prepared to die

Dean Wickliffe says he will walk out of Springhill Prison a free man or come out in a body bag.

• Dean Wickliffe, 77, is on a hunger strike at Springhill Prison, demanding release or death.
• Wickliffe was recently arrested for breaching parole by living in his car instead of at his approved address.
• His lawyer, Annette Sykes, has applied for an urgent parole hearing, fearing he won’t last until his scheduled April 3 hearing.
• Green MP Steve Abel visited Wickliffe on Wednesday and has relayed their 70-minute prison conversation to the Herald.

Lifetime parolee Dean Wickliffe’s supporters say the notorious criminal is resolute – he will walk out of Springhill Prison a free man, or be carried out in a body bag.

Wickliffe has been on a hunger strike since March 10 and has lost more than 17kg, his lawyer Annette Sykes told the Herald.

The former prison escapee won’t eat until he is released without conditions, his supporters say.

Green MP Steve Abel met Wickliffe in prison on Wednesday and has given the Herald his notes from their conversation.

“If you start something you’ve got to finish it to the end,” Wickliffe said in Abel’s account of their meeting.

“Because of my age I might not survive, but I’ve made the decision I won’t back down.

“If I’m not walking out of here a free man, they’ll carry me out in a body bag,” he said.

It is not Dean Wickliffe's first hunger strike. He survived a 35-day strike in 1986.

On Friday, Wickliffe’s lawyer Annette Sykes submitted an application to the parole board for an urgent hearing.

His scheduled hearing is not until April 3 and supporters fear he won’t last that long if he continues with his hunger strike.

Sykes is also providing options for accommodation to be urgently assessed by the probation service.

Wickliffe was arrested on March 5 for breaching his parole by living in his car and not the address in his parole conditions.

He claims he was assaulted by a guard after being sent to Springhill Corrections Facility on March 6.

“There was blood all over me. It took 10 hours to stop the bleeding in Waikato Hospital [because] I’m on blood thinning meds for my heart,” Wickliffe told Abel on Wednesday.

Kym Grierson, Corrections Acting Commissioner Custodial Services, confirmed on Wednesday that a staff member had been asked not to come to work while the alleged incident was being investigated.

“A prisoner allegedly refused a request to enter his cell and, after throwing an item, took a fighting stance towards staff,” Grierson said.

“Following this, staff intervened and the prisoner sustained injuries while being restrained. He received medical treatment from prison health staff and was taken to hospital on Thursday evening.”

Sykes has submitted requests under the Official Information Act to have footage and incident reports for the alleged incident released to her.

This is not Dean Wickliffe’s first hunger strike.

In 1986 he went on a 35-day strike in Paremoremo Prison. Now 77, he told Abel he is aware of the greater risk of organ failure.

Springhill Correctional Facility, near Meremere. Wickliffe alleges he was assaulted by a guard at the facility on March 6.

Abel told the Herald that during his 70-minute meeting with Wickliffe on Wednesday, the lifetime parolee looked thin, drained and determined.

“He is gaunt. His lower cheeks are caved,” Abel said.

“We sat at the table. The Scottish guard brought us each a paper cup of water and shut the door behind him. We were able to speak freely, the guards were loitering at a distance.

“Dean [was] recounting stories from his life grappling with the justice system and his decades of time behind bars, including advocacy for better conditions for prisoners,” Abel told the Herald.

Wickliffe told Abel that when he was picked up by police, he wasn’t homeless.

“Many have offered me a bed. That was the only night I had to sleep in my car,” the Green MP’s notes record Wickliffe as saying.

He told Abel he wants to be free from parole conditions, which have resulted in him being recalled to prison a number of times for breaches.

“I was 28 years in D block [Paremoremo Prison]. Rangatira (chief) there. Called the shots on outcomes that improved conditions,” he told Abel.

“I saw 4-5 commit suicide, and mental breakdowns. We united the gangs to stand with us, and they did, and we got concessions.

“This battle is not all about me,” he said.

“If I die, I would like some good consequence, like an in-depth investigation into the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit at Paremoremo. They need to have a look at what’s going on. Shed light on it.”

Wickliffe also has other grievances.

“I’m the first in NZ to get life for manslaughter. Really that’s my main grievance. I still find it hard to deal with,” he told Abel.

Dean Wickliffe was once New Zealand's longest-serving prisoner.

Asked about the conditions at Springhill, Wickliffe told Abel: “It’s 22 hours a day of lock-up.”

When asked what will end his hunger strike, Wickliffe told Abel: “I’d need to know I was going to be released to the outside world with no more conditions.

“I don’t deserve to be treated like this because I became homeless.”

Wickliffe said he has not reoffended in a long time. “I’ve experienced a lot of injustice ... I gave up crime to turn my life around and now I’m in this situation.”

He said the hunger strike would continue. “I don’t cheat ... I won’t take anything but water. I won’t compromise.”

He told Abel he is proud of where he came from.

“I’m Māori. I was brought up by my father in Maketū. I know who I am. I know my whakapapa,” he told the MP.

Abel said while Wickliffe was animated to begin with, towards the end of their 70 minutes he started slurring words and appeared tired.

Green MP Steve Abel had a 70-minute face-to-face meeting with recalled inmate Dean Wickliffe on Wednesday at Springhill Prison.

“Before I left, we embraced,” Abel told the Herald. “There’s not much to him. He slightly faltered and propped himself on the table before sitting down again.”