In the past three days one man has been stabbed and other prisoner, has tried to commit suicide at Tasmania’s Risdon prison. The prison is no stranger to controversy, experiencing a riot in 2005 and several serious incidents causing lock downs since this time. In response to the incidents of self-harm, today legal reform advocates are calling for an overhaul similar to the one that transformed the prison system in New South Wales in the 1970s, after a spate of riots threw a spotlight on the dire state of conditions in correctional facilities there. Greg Barns is a criminal barrister and legal advisor to lobby group Prison Action Reform. He explained earlier why we should be concerned about when incarcerated members of our society deliberately harm themselves.