Convicted sex offender first prisoner to die under Australia assisted suicide law

A convicted pedophile in Australia died under New South Wales’ assisted suicide and euthanasia law, and one victim, his daughter, says justice “has been ripped away.”

Justice Health officials approved an application from prisoner Daniel Hume, 55, who had terminal cancer, under the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Act 2022. He became the first prisoner to die under the law at the end of August – after serving only seven years of a 30-year sentence.

Following Hume’s death, transparency concerns have been raised. No victim consultation took place before the decision, and neither NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong nor Health Minister Ryan Park were involved in approving Hume’s request, Live Action reports. 

An advocate for victims, Howard Brown, said the board acted in secrecy. 

“If you were confident in the decision you have made as a specialist board, then you would be completely transparent about your decision-making, not clandestine like the VAD board is on these cases,” he said. 

Last year, prison officers and union officials raised concerns about the lack of consultation with the prison system on inmates applying for euthanasia. A prison boss from New South Wales said the approval of Hume’s case could set “a dangerous precedent.” 

“There is a real fear this will open up the floodgates, and there are little to no mechanisms in place for the department, or even the NSW Government, to intervene,” the official told the Daily Telegraph. 

Hume’s daughter, Nevaeh Jett, who was one of his 14 victims, said the decision “ripped away” justice. 

“None of us deserved to find out this way,” she said, explaining she only learned of her father’s death when a friend saw it on the news. She also called the decision a terrifying precedent “for other criminals who have committed heinous crimes.” 

Jett, 27, is now campaigning against assisted suicide and euthanasia for prisoners. 

She said reform is necessary “in how we approach victims, with how we inform victims, with how we consider victims, because our justice deserves to be considered.” 

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act took effect in November 2023. Guidance documents say staff must refer inmates to Justice Health and that the VAD Board makes decisions without outside input. 

“The case of Daniel Hume is a worrying example of how assisted suicide and euthanasia continue to harm the most vulnerable in our society, in this case, his victims, for whom justice has been removed,” Catherine Robinson of Right to Life UK said in a statement. 

“This sort of case reveals yet another kind of presumably unintended consequence of these kinds of laws,” she added.