A child rapist serving a jail term for a raft of vile sex offences has claimed he has been discriminated against for having to share a prison cell.
Jason Daron Mizner told a civil tribunal his ‘impairments’ meant he was not suitable for shared accommodation at Queensland‘s Wolston Correctional Centre – something he said amounted to ‘indirect discrimination’ on the state’s part.
On Tuesday he gave evidence he suffered from sleep disturbances, describing how he could be woken up by something as simple as another inmate turning the prison’s common room lights on.
‘If they did that, the light fluctuation would wake me up,’ Mizner, a former Gold Coast yoga teacher, said.
He claimed shared cells were ‘full of conflict’ that triggered traumatic flashbacks to his prior incarceration in a Thailand prison.
Child rapist Jason Daron Mizner (pictured) gave evidence he suffered from sleep disturbances, describing how he could be woken up by something as simple as another inmate turning the prison’s common room lights on
Mizner told a civil tribunal his ‘impairments’ meant he was not suitable for shared accommodation at Queensland’s Wolston Correctional Centre (pictured)
‘You’re not seriously suggesting being in a shared cell at Wolston is in any equivalent to what you say you experienced in Thailand, are you?’ Chris Murdoch KC, acting for the State of Queensland, asked.
‘It triggers a similar response, yes,’ Mizner answered.
The 48-year-old has launched discrimination action against the state of Queensland, claiming he was discriminated against over the prison’s decision to keep him in shared cell accommodation despite his multiple impairments.
He further claims his human rights have been violated because of the decision not to include him on the prison’s Do Not Double Up list.
But in his submissions Mr Murdoch said Mizner was not discriminated against, saying any triggers within the prison occurred ‘regardless’ of his cell arrangements.
Mr Murdoch also pointed to the support available within the correctional centre and that prisoners could request to be placed on the prison’s Do Not Double Up list.
‘There’s a disconnect in this case,’ he said.
‘There were criteria in place, there was an option to be on the Double Up list … the allocations are monitored and reviewed.’
Mizner is currently serving a 19-year jail term for a raft of child-sex offences.
He spent 11 years in a Thai prison before he was deported to Australia in 2018 and charged by police.
During Tuesday’s hearing before the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), he said he was sensitive to sleep disturbances that ranged from external noises to his ‘anxiety level or traumatic mood fluctuations’.
Mizner said during cross-examination he would be woken up by people ‘going about their business’ in the common area, even if they ‘turned the lights on’.
He said noise levels were higher in shared cells and would cover the edge of his bed with blankets and wrap a towel around his head to stop ‘light fluctuations’.
‘It reduces feelings of intrusion and sensations on my skin,’ Mizner said.
‘Inmates in Thai prisons almost all do the same thing because we’re forced to sleep on fluorescent lights … it constantly wakes you up.
‘I didn’t experience natural darkness for 11 years.’
Mizner said he would have ‘panic attacks’ if there were sudden changes in light, such as when the cell lights were suddenly turned on or off.
But he rejected suggestions he was a light sleeper.
He also rejected suggestions from Mr Murdoch that no-one in the prison said he couldn’t ask to share a cell with someone of his choice.
‘That’s assuming they wanted to share with me and if their lifestyle was suitable to mine,’ Mizner said.
‘I don’t want to share a cell with someone, that’s traumatic.’
Mr Murdoch suggested to Mizner he had a preference to have his own cell and he was running this litigation to ‘achieve’ his preference while ‘overstating’ his medical conditions.
‘I’m not overstating it; if anything I have trouble explaining how severe my condition is,’ he answered.
The tribunal was told Mizner had difficulty convincing authorities he had been ‘tortured’ while serving time in a Thai prison.
He claimed he felt he was ‘gaslighted’ and flagged he would complain about his treatment.
The 48-year-old has launched discrimination action against the state of Queensland, claiming he was discriminated against over the prison’s decision to keep him in shared cell accommodation despite his multiple impairments
The tribunal was told Mizner had worked in crowded workshop areas of the prison – at times for up to 18 months – but found it ‘distressing’.
He said he then moved to the prison’s textile area, describing the ‘white noise’ of the workshop’s electric circular saws ‘incredibly calming’.
Mr Murdoch questioned how Mizner could work in the prison’s textile area alongside 25 other prisoners and the sound of heavy machinery like saws.
‘It’s an electric engine, it is calming to me, it provides a continuous humming sound … like a white noise,’ he replied.
The QCAT hearing continues.
