Yes,
it’s me again!
“What?” you say, “So quickly? But we just
heard from you.” I know but I have read, over the past few days, some very
sickening and upsetting articles that I felt something had to be said. I don’t
ask much of you dear reader, I really don’t. I am just humbled and honoured
that you take the time to read my ranting. But this time, I really need your
help. If you agree with anything I am about to say then I beg of you; copy,
paste it, send it to your MP (get them to ask questions) or send it to the Ministry
Of Justice, send it to Liz Truss and / or Sam Gyimah and demand a response.
Tweet it, Facebook it, do whatever you want with it, but please do something.
Now
I DO want to go off on a rant
here.
A
few months ago, I ranted (for that is my thing is it not?) on the issues of
self harm in prison (Oh
Captain, My Captain) and I mentioned three cases that came to my attention.
I
have recently read three more stories over the last two days about men that
have committed suicide in Prison and the findings of the Ombudsman & Coroner. In all of these cases it was found that the
suicides could have been prevented by those very authorities that were charged
with the duty of care for that individual.
In
a shocking case; Haydn Burton was found hanging in his cell after being
remanded into custody on an assault charge. (For further info click here). It was recognised
that Mr Burton suffered from mental health issues but Winchester Prison was
found wanting in following up on his mental health issues. A jury “criticised the care offered to him and
concluded there were missed opportunities to assess or reassess Mr Burton's
risk of self-harm or suicide.” The
court heard that “poor communication
between officers and managers, and between officers and healthcare teams,
contributed to his death.”
Read those last 4 words again, please.
CONTRIBUTED TO HIS DEATH!
I think one of the most shocking parts of this
inquest was when the Jury said that, “it
was "more likely than not"
prison staff had been informed the inmate had a noose.” I wept with despair
when I read this. The Prison knew that he had a noose and yet did nothing?
The
second case that I wish to highlight is the case of Paddy Kelly who committed
suicide in Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland. (For a more concise report on
his death, click here).
The Prison Ombudsman stated very clearly in his report that “His overdose was "foreseeable"
and his death "preventable". Again, as was the case with Mr Burton, Mr
Kelly was known to have had mental health issues. He had on a number of
occasions informed staff that he did not want to run the risk of keeping his medication
in possession. This request was followed for a few days then for some unknown
reason he was given his medication to keep. Mr Kelly then overdosed on his
medication and died in hospital 2 days later. Even the nurse who "most probably" took the
decision to return the drugs told investigators she had no recollection of
doing so”. Oh come on! She had no recollection of doing so? Take notes, for
God’s sake. I am sorry, should I be sympathetic to the nurse who contributed to
Mr Kelly’s death? The report says that working in prison healthcare is
difficult. I get that, I really do, I witnessed some of the abuse that the
healthcare workers face when I was in prison. But it’s their job to care and
provide healthcare services for those under its care. If you can’t do the job, don’t
do it.
The
third case is that of David Smith. Mr Smith arrived at Highpoint Prison in
Suffolk back in May of 2014. He was stressed upon arrival an asked to speak to
a Listener. A listener is a prisoner trained by the Samaritans to talk to prisoners
on a confidential basis. It is a great service when provided properly. The
Prison rules require that a Listener is present in reception but in this
instance Highpoint failed in its obligation to provide one. He asked to speak
to the Samaritans, as there is a dedicated telephone held on every wing for
this very purpose. The phone wasn’t there. They couldn’t find it. Mr Smith
attempted to hang himself that night and died the following day. (For Further
Information click here).
These
are only 3 cases of the 256 reported cases of suicide since the beginning of 2014
(information from Inquest.org).
I am not saying that all these cases were preventable, I am sure they weren’t
but if one life is lost in prison due to the negligence of a staff member then
shame on it and shame on us for allowing it to continue.
How
many of you that have read these articles have read the standard response from
the Prison Service media department “We will continue to learn from these such
incidents”? LEARN from them? They shouldn’t have to learn from them because they
shouldn’t happen.
We
do not inflict the death penalty in the United Kingdom but for these three
individuals listed above, their death was preventable and caused by the
failures of the service that has a duty of care towards them. The blame lies at
the feet of both the Prison Service and their Healthcare providers and they
should be ashamed.
Look;
I am not asking you to judge those who are in prison, I am not asking you to
pass judgement on their crimes and I am
not asking you to pass judgement on the morals of suicide. I am asking you to
sit up and take notice that people are killing themselves in our prisons. In
the three cases I mentioned above the prison / healthcare staff were alerted to
problems, they just chose to ignore it.
On
the Justice Website, their statement of purpose states c that “Our duty is to look after them with humanity
and help them lead law-abiding and useful lives in custody and after release.” (MOJ).
I
am not a harsh critic of the Prison Service, per se. By that I mean that I sympathise
with the staff and the hardship they face. I understand the chronic
understaffing that faces the Prison Estate and have witnessed some of the terrible
assaults inflicted on these good people. I have ranted on many occasions about
the need for extra staff. A lot of credence is given to the victims of crime
and indeed a lot of work with offenders is undertaken to have them understand
the victim’s point of view. I ask now, are not the families of these men, whose
deaths have been deemed preventable not victims themselves? If so, what is the
prison service doing to rehabilitate itself?
Read
that phrase from above again “People are killing themselves in our Prisons”. We
as a society jail people that have transgressed the law. That is their
punishment. Their mental health issues should be addressed just as they would be
addressed if they were in the community. The society that jails its citizens
has an obligation and a duty of care to that citizen. He should feel safe in
his environment, be able to live a healthy and law abiding lifestyle (free from
harm and bullying) whilst receiving the treatment he needs in order to
rehabilitate himself. These are his basic human rights. We are a modern day society;
we have compassion for our fellow human being. If we are the reason for
removing a person from our society so should we be the society that ensures the
above.
I
said in my article for Politics.co.uk
last week that any life that is lost in prison due to the lack of staffing
should be noted on a wall inside the Ministry of Justice lest we forget who is
to blame. I stand by that.
The
death of any individual brought about by the mismanagement of another should be
lamented. Just because they are prisoners does not make them any less of a
human being.
I
can only hope that the tortured souls of Messrs Burton, Kelly and Smith have
found peace.
Of
course, as always, the above is just my opinion, I could be wrong. But in this
instance I do hope that even one of you may feel the same way.
