Qld: Fingleton moved to an open security facility
By Vera Devai
BRISBANE, Aug 11 AAP - Jailed former Queensland Chief Magistrate Di Fingleton was todaymoved to an open security "halfway" house, the Department of Corrective Services (DOCS)said.
Fingleton has served 10 weeks of her six-month sentence for retaliating against a witness.
A DOCS spokesman said Fingleton was moved about 11.10am (AEST) from the maximum securitywomen's prison at Wacol in Brisbane's west to the Helena Jones "halfway" house in theinner-city suburb of Albion.
He said Fingleton would share the facility, which was full, with 33 other prisoners.
"She will spend the next five to seven days being assessed for an appropriate placeof employment," the spokesman said.
Fingleton has been placed on a community work order which means she will perform voluntarywork each day for an accredited or registered community organisation, either at the facilityor another location.
"It is yet to be assessed which way she will go," the DOCS spokesman said.
"But they (prisoners) perform normal working duties just as any other person in themainstream community does."
A number of organisations have already publicly stated their interest in trying touse Fingleton's skills, including the Abuse Child Trust.
Abuse Child Trust CEO Jane Andersen said Fingleton had volunteered her time to theorganisation before her trial and was working on a project about how the judicial systemdeals with the issue of emotional abuse.
"Judges and the judicial system can begin to understand physical and sexual abuse butit's very difficult to understand emotional abuse," Ms Andersen said.
"So Di was looking at that and developing a paper that would hopefully help the judicialsystem understand emotional abuse a bit better."
Fingleton's home for the next few months has a communal kitchen and lounge area andwill have more relaxed visitation rules, with family and relatives allowed to visit forlonger and more often.
She will serve out the rest of her sentence at the facility.
The DOCS spokesman today dismissed claims by a prisoner support group that Fingleton'stransfer had taken too long.
"She has been treated and processed the same as any other prisoner of high or low profile,"
he said.
AAP ved/sc/drp/de
KEYWORD: FINGLETON
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