What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine the implications of Cleveland Dodd's death in custody on Indigenous incarceration and legal practices.

February 11, 2026Open Access

The tragic death in custody of Cleveland Dodd: ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here’ (Dante Alighieri, Inferno )

Key Points

To examine the implications of Cleveland Dodd's death in custody on Indigenous incarceration and legal practices.
Analysis of the circumstances surrounding Cleveland Dodd's death in custody.
Review of historical recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Assessment of legal compliance regarding solitary confinement practices.
Revealed high rates of Indigenous incarceration in WA.
Found significant non-compliance with past recommendations.
Indicated that solitary confinement practices may be unlawful.

Abstract

The 2023 death in custody of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd, an Aboriginal youth in solitary confinement on remand in the now notorious Unit 18 in Perth Western Australia, has renewed concerns about staggering rates of Indigenous incarceration, the extent of non-compliance with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1988–91), and ‘unlawful’ solitary confinement practices (as determined by the WA Supreme Court).

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