Concerns Raised Over Convict Death

The Prisoner Ombudsman's office, which investigates complaints about Northern Ireland's prisons, has published its report into the death of a man, one day after he was released from jail.

It found that there were 14 areas of concern surrounding the man's death.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on the man, referred to only as Mr D, and he was found to have died from pneumonia. However, toxicology results revealed levels of prescription and non-prescription drugs in his system, which could have been a contributory factor in the death.

The Prisoner Ombudsman's office added that several of the other issues it had identified also featured in its previous reports. This included the availability and management of drugs in prison. It is understood the man had suffered chronic leg and back pain, and had been allowed to self-administer high doses of painkillers while in prison.

In response to the report, Paul Cawkwell, Director of Offender Policy and Operations in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said: "The Ombudsman's Report has raised a number of important issues and the Prison Service will continue to work closely with our healthcare colleagues in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust to reduce levels of prescription medication misuse in prisons.

"We are also working with a range of partners to reduce both the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs in prison, with much greater emphasis now placed on intelligence led searching and on education programmes within the prison."

(JP/CD)