This make me SICK!

The National Party has renewed its calls for an inquiry into the Corrections Department after the woman sentenced for the manslaughter of baby Lillybing said she took drugs while in prison and claimed that jail was not that hard.

Rachealle Namana, 33, also said she used her cellphone to access pornography while in prison and said she continued to associate with former inmates who were gang members.

Lillybing died on July 23, 2000, aged 23 months, from cerebral swelling after being shaken violently by Namana, her aunt.

Lillybing's death followed abuse over the preceding days and she also had potentially fatal abdominal bruising and lacerations to her genitals.

She had heavy bruising on her forehead, chin and mouth, severe scald burns to her forehead, the top of her head, cheeks and eyelids, loose teeth, and cuts on her legs and thighs. There were also friction burns on her fingers and wrists.

Namana and another of Lillybing's aunts, Rongomai Paewai, knew of these injuries at least 36 hours before Lillybing's death but failed to get medical help for her till it was too late.

Namana, a former kohanga reo worker, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

She also admitted wilfully ill-treating Lillybing in a violent toilet-training incident.

She and Paewai were both convicted on charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life and wilful ill-treatment.

Paewai was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

The Sunday Star-Times reported yesterday that Namana was freed from jail on parole last year and had finished her probation last month.

She was now living in Gisborne with her brother, his partner and their toddler.

Namana said she had met gang members, including an Auckland gang Crip "jail sister" who was among the group that killed South Auckland pizza delivery man Michael Choy.

She said she thought about Lillybing and did not have an explanation for what she had done.

She told the newspaper she smoked methamphetamine or P while in prison, used her cellphone to download pornography and said jail was "fine".

"It's not as hard as people make out," she said.

She also said she had not been rehabilitated. "Do I look like I've turned my life around?"

Former Christchurch Women's Prison boss Celia Lashlie told the newspaper Namana needed to "grow up" and take stock of the fact that she had killed a child.

National's law and order spokesman Simon Power said yesterday that the Government could not turn a blind eye to what was happening.

"There are some pretty rotten things going on in our prisons.

"We've seen prisoners sleeping in vans and a big increase in smuggling contraband into prisons. We've heard the suggestion that criminals should be prison guards, seen budgets blown, and prisoners accessing violent movies," Mr Power said.

Add to that the Namana situation "and there's no denying the system is in crisis".

There should be a wide-ranging inquiry into the Corrections Department, he said.

Shoot the bitch! Seriously. If she STILL doesn't feel remorse for what shes done, does the human race really need her input? This woman is the same age as me, and the little girl she murdered was 3 months older than Nicole. I remember reading about it at the time and crying because of the pain that poor baby went though. What is wrong with people??