It’s been a month since convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson learned she would likely spend the rest of her life behind bars in a tiny cell described as a “box smaller than our toilets” and nicknamed “the slot”.
Housed in the Gordon Unit – an isolation unit – at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, the convicted killer, 51, is not only tormented by the “screaming and yelling” outside her prison cell, but inside the conditions are so bad some have likened it to “torture”.
Former inmate Ashleigh Chapman, who served four years in the Melbourne jail, says life on the ward was horrific and her cell was so small it took only seven steps to walk from end to end.
ERIN PATTERSON’S NEW HELL
“We were going days without water,” Chapman told The Saturday Paper.
“We were getting quite sick and a lot of us had lost a lot of weight.”
Patterson has been housed in the prison’s isolation unit for her own safety for around 400 days already, which far exceeds the 15 days of solitary confinement recommended by the United Nations.
She has her meals passed through a trap door and has no communication with other inmates. She spends between 22-24 hours in the cell daily.
Since July 2024, the prison has had 106 lockdowns where all inmates could not leave their cell. One of those lockdowns lasted 43 hours.
Patterson does have access to some creature comforts such as books, a computer, crocheting equipment and a hair straightener, but there are concerns her human rights are being violated by the conditions.
“While her crimes are appalling, the act of caging any human being in prolonged conditions of sensory deprivation and lack of human contact is anathema to society and diminishes us all,” Clive Solomon, retired consultant general surgeon and advocate against solitary confinement, told News.com.au.
“I honestly cannot conceive of such an existence.”
“The Gordon Unit is notorious for high suicide risk. Prisoners are confined to a small space and rarely given more than an hour outside their cells,” Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney Professor of Law, concurs.
“Prison conditions should comply with human rights obligations and avoid cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment of prisoners,” she says.
NEW COURTROOM BATTLE
Now, a new courtroom battle could be emerging as the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) files an appeal, claiming: “the sentence handed down to Erin Patterson is manifestly inadequate.”
In September, Patterson received a life sentence with a non-parole period of 33 years for the deaths of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Heather Wilkinson, 66.
Patterson has also hired a new human rights lawyer, Julian McMahon, who has a history of working with criminals he says “no-one else wants to defend”.
He will be working alongside barrister Richard Edney.
If the court accepts the defence’s appeal, tipped to be filed in early November, Patterson’s case could return to court for a retrial.
HER CAR HITS FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE!
Patterson’s little red MG SUV, which she was constantly seen driving around in before her arrest in November 2023, was recently listed on Facebook Marketplace for a steal at $18,500.
“Priced to sell quickly. Selling my MG ZST Core, 2023, with just 22,000kms,” Patterson’s power of attorney said in the listing.
“Only selling because of an upgrade.”
The small red crossover became synonymous with the case as it was used to dump the dehydrator.
