Content warning: this Zedline mentions Indigenous deaths in custody.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has co-signed a letter with almost 40 human rights groups damning the Victorian government’s bail laws for contributing to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
The laws introduced in 2017 make the threshold for bail much higher. The accused is obliged to give a compelling reason or exceptional circumstance to justify being given bail.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government says the bail laws were strengthened on the basis of expert advice and community concern.