Douglas Scott's Story

On February 1985, Douglas Scott was arrested outside the bar of the Darwin Hotel located in the Northern Territory of Australia. The barman had complained that Douglas had slapped his wife, Letty Scott. The arrest took place against Letty's wishes and without her having pressed charges, so the police charged Douglas Scott with "the use of obscene language in the company of police officers". Against the provisions of the Northern Territory Bail Act (1), Douglas was detained for 60 days. Throughout his unlawful detention, Douglas was refused bail and legal representation. He was further kept in solitary confinement, tortured, denied medical attention and finally allegedly killed on the 5th of June 1985 (2).

Plethora of evidence and eyewitness testimonies suggest that on the night of the 4th-5th of July 1985, Douglas Scott was bashed to death and hung by prison officers in Darwin Prison. Jeffrey Bindai, for instance, a prisoner in a cell next to Douglas Scott recalls, "…I hear the click key in that bloke cell it wake me up. I looked through my louvres 4 blokes with long batons go in that bloke's cell hear that noise Tfffff Tffffff…boomph bomph bomph…they musta put a pillow in that bloke's mouth…he been saying 'help, help me'…they kept hitting, hitting, hitting…then silence… Next morning I see him hanging up…facing me…They bashed him up…blood on sheet, blood on pillow, blood on wall, blood on floor…" (3).

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(1) Under section 22 of the Northern Territory Bail Act, when an accused person is refused bail by a justice in respect of an offence an adjournment of the hearing by the justice shall except with the consent of the accused person be for a period not exceeding 15 clear days (Royal Commission Transcripts, p. 1639). Douglas never gave his consent for his extensive detention. On the contrary, according to eyewitness testimonies he kept screaming for bail.
(2) Royal Commission Transcripts 3/4/89, 30/3/89; Reconstruction Report 29/6/200; Statement of Prison Officer Thomas 13/5/88 p. 2; Statement of Prison Officer Jones, Tippet Submission to the Royal Commission, p.16; Royal Commission Transcript 21/4/89 p. 1600; The Commissioner, Reason of Findings, p. 28; Statement obtained under duress by Mick Dodson, John Christopherson and Geof Barbaro, Royal Commission Office 4/4/89; Interview of Jeffrey Bindai by Robert Dow 12/4/95; Correspondence Between Solicitor Rodney Lewis and Barrister Daniel Brezniak 4/9/96; Letty Scott 1999, 2000; Interview of Geoffrey Barbaro, Royal Commission by Rodney Lewis, International Commission of Jurists 13/3/1995).
(3) Interview of Jeffrey Bindai by ex-police officer Robert Dow 12/4/95.