An Aboriginal woman's death in custody should be the catalyst for reforming Victoria's broken bail laws, legal groups say.
Coroner Simon McGregor is preparing to release his findings into the death of Gunditjmara Dja Dja Wurrung Wiradjuri Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson next week.
The 37-year-old died in her cell at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in January 2020 after being arrested three days earlier on suspicion of shoplifting. She had been denied bail.
Mr McGregor will find Ms Nelson's death was preventable and that she was treated cruelly and inhumanely, The Age newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Calls for 'broken' bail laws to be revisited
Among his recommendations, Mr McGregor will call for reform to Victoria's bail laws.
The laws were strengthened after James Gargasoulas drove into a busy Bourke Street Mall in January 2017, killing six people and injuring dozens of others.
Gargasoulas was on bail at the time of the attack.
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said the tightened bail laws are "broken" and that the government needs to own up to their mistake and change them.
"Next week the Coroner's Court will hand down findings for the inquest into the passing of Veronica Nelson and I hope that is the catalyst we need to fix Victoria's broken bail laws," she said.
“It’s clear that a lot of mistakes were made when the bail laws were changed in 2017. It is time for the Victorian government to acknowledge those mistakes and fix them.”
The Victorian government said it is considering how it can ensure the most vulnerable people in the community are protected.
"Fundamentally, our bail laws need to protect the community without having a disproportionate or unintended impact on those accused of low-level offending who do not present a risk to community safety," a government spokesman told AAP.
"We know that more needs to be done to address the over-representation of Aboriginal Victorians in the justice system."
Liberty Victoria's Sam Norton said Victoria got the balance wrong on bail laws after the Bourke Street tragedy, with innocent people who were accused of low-level offences often pleading guilty due to their ineligibility for bail.
"Engaging in law reform in response to utterly appalling acts of an individual is a dangerous business," he told AAP.
"Bad cases make bad law."
Laws saw growth in percentage of unsentenced prisoners
Veronica Nelson's partner Percy Lovett (right) has filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court. Source: AAP / JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE
"This was a recommendation of Justice (Peter) Coughlan and it was supported by the parliament," he told reporters.
Corrections Victoria figures show there were 5232 unsentenced people in prison in December, making up 40.6 per cent of the state's total prison population.
When the Bail Act was amended in January 2018, unsentenced prisoners accounted for 31.6 per cent of the 13,796 people in jail.
"For our community to be safe the Bail Act must be amended to ensure that only those who pose a specific and immediate risk to the physical safety of another person or pose a demonstrable flight risk can be denied bail," Law Institute of Victoria president Tania Wolff said.
Shadow Attorney-General Michael O'Brien said the Victorian opposition would consider any sensible reform proposals, as long as they did not put community safety at risk.
The Victorian Greens plan to introduce their own bill to parliament if Labor doesn't act first, criticising the major parties for their tough-on-crime agenda.
The inquest into Ms Nelson's death heard too many people were being unnecessarily brought before Melbourne's Bail and Remand Court.
People charged with minor offences were having to show exceptional circumstances to be released on bail because of the tougher laws, barrister Peter Schumpeter told the coroner in April.
The Victorian government said it will carefully consider any findings or recommendations from the coroner.
