The family of an Australian Aboriginal elder who died after being "cooked" in the back of a scorching hot prison van may sue after a coroner branded his treatment inhumane, they said Saturday. A coroner Friday described the treatment of the 46-year-old man as a "disgrace" and inhumane, saying he would ask prosecutors to consider criminal charges over his death from heat-stroke in Western Australia in January 2008.
The elder, known only as Mr Ward as his first name was withheld for cultural reasons, was transported 360 kilometres (225 miles) to jail in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 F) in a van with faulty air conditioning.
Ward, who was arrested a day earlier for drink driving, spent four hours in the searing heat between the mining towns of Laverton and Kalgoorlie, suffering third-degree burns where his body touched the metal floor, the inquest heard. Western Australia Coroner Alastair Hope found that Ward was effectively "cooked" to death and heavily criticised the state prisons department, the private security firm that operated the van and the two guards who escorted Ward.
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