The former doctor convicted of murdering a Dunedin teenager died in prison. Video / NZ Herald
The sudden death of a Dunedin murderer behind bars has sparked a "life-saver" change to national court processes.
Venod Skantha, who was convicted of murdering Dunedin teenager Amber-Rose Rush in 2018, is believed to have taken his own life at Otago Corrections Facility in mid-April, just hours after learning of a Court of Appeal decision upholding his conviction.
His death revealed the courts did not inform prisons when a judgment was released.
That meant processes could not be put in place to assess the level of risk prisoners posed to themselves.
After a review into the incident, the Court of Appeal confirmed Corrections would now be notified of judgments at the same time as defence and Crown lawyers.
The news was welcomed by those working in the justice system, who had been surprised and frustrated it was not already happening.
Amber-Rose Rush of Dunedin was murdered in February 2018. Photo / Supplied, File
Corrections Association president Alan Whitley yesterday said the change was a life-saver.
"It's a good change. The whole thing was an unfortunate incident for the prisoner and his family."
Whitley previously told the Otago Daily Times there had been other instances in which inmates had received bad news and either attempted to take their own life, or had successfully taken their own life, before staff became aware.
The change meant staff would have the information they needed to put support in place for prisoners who might be at risk, he said.
In a statement, a Corrections spokesman said it was aware of the change and was working with staff to incorporate it into its systems.
"We welcome any such change that assists us all in improving our practice but we have nothing further to add at this stage."
Prominent lawyer Nigel Hampton QC had previously expressed surprise that the sharing of information was not already happening.
An adverse judgment was likely to have an emotional impact on an inmate and, given how vulnerable many of them were, it made sense that Corrections was told so it could put support in place to ensure their wellbeing.
Yesterday, he said others in the legal profession had also been surprised, and he was pleased the situation had changed.
"This is the right thing to do."
Corrections conducts risk assessments with inmates in certain situations, such as when they receive an adverse court judgment.
But those assessments had only been happening if staff became aware of the judgment through informal means, such as being told by a lawyer or the prisoner themselves.
