'At risk' murder accused sleeping in police cell with light on

  • Breaking
  • 04/09/2007

It has been revealed a woman on trial for murder has for the past two nights been made to sleep in a police cell with the light on.
 
43-year-old Tracy Jean Goodman is accused in the High Court at Wanganui of stabbing to death 83-year-old Mona Morriss in early 2005.
 
Justice Mark Cooper says he has been told Goodman is in police cells because Palmerston North’s Kaitoke prison has refused to take her.
 
He says he understands police are required to leave the light on overnight because the Corrections Department considers Goodman an "at risk" prisoner.
 
But Justice Cooper says this brings in to question whether Goodman can have a fair trial with insufficient sleep, and expects the issue to be addressed this morning.

source: newshub archive