Coroner says mentally ill prisoner’s death was ‘avoidable’

originally published:
5th March 2009

An inquest jury ruled today that the death of Michael Bailey a 23 year old inmate who was found hanged in his cell in the segregation unit of HMP Rye Hill in March 2005 could have been avoided.

Assistant deputy coroner, Tom Osborne, said Mr Bailey’s death was avoidable and branded as “shameful” the fact that he had not been transferred to hospital despite mental health problems.

The jury ruled:

At 12.05 on March 24 2005 in cell 21 on the segregation unit at HMP Rye Hill, Michael Bailey killed himself whilst suffering from a mental illness.

It said there was a failure to carry out a full or adequate mental health assessment while Bailey was in the unit and prison officers, healthcare staff, and doctors knew or should have known he was under a “real and immediate risk of self-harm or suicide”.

The jury said:

There was a failure on the part of all staff to take responsibility for ensuring Michael Bailey’s safety.

The prison staff, healthcare staff and doctors did not do all that could be reasonably expected of them to prevent Michael Bailey hanging himself.

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Posted by Alison Leslie on 11/03/2009. Filed under Prison Deaths. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.