Episode 4.8 - Prison Issue
Written by Jayne Hollinson
Produced by Claire Phillips
Directed by Brett Fallis
Watch this episode on SeeSaw now
Unable to cope with the humiliation meted upon her by Shaz and Denny, Buki resorts to cutting up. However, this time she injures herself much more seriously than she intended. Yvonne is furious with Shaz and Denny over their treatment of Buki and convenes a kangaroo court in the four-bed dorm. Denny is chastened and immediately agrees that she give Buki a month’s spends in reparation. Shaz is unrepentant, but is eventually forced to agree when Yvonne ups the ante to two month’s spends. It’s the last straw for Shaz when Yvonne forces her to apologise to Buki the following morning. She tells Yvonne to get lost and then storms off.
Relations between Fenner and Karen have hit rock bottom now that she knows he has shown a rather compromising photograph of her to Neil. Fenner is fed up with being harassed, and so makes some very serious allegations about his behaviour. The inmates are also gossiping about Neil’s private life, especially when Noreen lets slip that he was observed being ‘indiscreet’ with the chaplain in his last prison. Yvonne tips Fenner off and he goes to have it out with Neil – he’s been in contact with personnel and has reported him for sexual harassment.
Cassie overhears Barbara explaining the new computerised accounts system and is hit by inspiration. What if she could re-program the system to add whatever is spent to each inmate’s total rather than subtract it? Yvonne is lost in admiration when Cassie outlines her plan; something a jealous Roisin is very quick to make an issue of when she and Cassie are next alone. But soon Roisin has more important things on her mind. Her husband, Aidan has taken their children and moved out of their house without leaving a forwarding address.
Tina and Noreen are struggling with their new jobs in the kitchen. Food is dropped or served cold and the rest of the inmates are rapidly losing patience. It doesn’t help that the Julies are determined to get their jobs in the servery back, or that they’re willing to stoop to any level to do it, including slipping dead cockroaches into Noreen’s pancake mix. Crystal goes into orbit when she bites into a cockroach and Barbara threatens to report the incident to the board of visitors. This is the last straw for Karen who fires Tina and Noreen and gives the Julies their old jobs back.
Maxi decides to capitalise on the bad feeling between Shaz and Yvonne. After making an effort to befriend Shaz, Maxi talks her into using her kickboxing skills to teach Yvonne a lesson. Shaz waits until Yvonne is alone in the laundry room before confronting her. When Yvonne tells her to get lost, Shaz loses her temper and kicks her in the back. Maxi sees her opportunity and rushes in. Before Yvonne can react, Maxi loops a belt around her neck and begins to strangle her.
Neil rifles through a box of Helen’s floppy disks and comes across a copy of her statement of sexual assault. Neil calls Fenner up to his office and threatens to take Helen’s statement to personnel- he doubts that they will continue to take Fenner’s allegations seriously when they find out that Neil is the second Governor who has been on the receiving end of a gay blackmail threat. Neil orders Fenner to go straight to personnel to withdraw his complaint and admit that it was made out of a personal grudge.
Read the factsheet written by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies to accompany this episode:
Episode 8 - Bullying & Self Harm