Prisoner let down in every instance

all credits: Northampton Chronicle
originally published – 23rd January 2008

The manager of a prison segregation unit in Northamptonshire where an inmate killed himself said he “regretted his death 100 per cent”, an inquest heard yesterday.

Paul Smith, one of four prison guards acquitted of manslaughter by gross negligence after the death of 23-year-old Michael Bailey at HMP Rye Hill, said the prisoner had been failed by everybody and said he had not been trained for his job properly.

Mr Bailey’s mother Caroline left the inquest at the Diamonds Conference Centre, Irthlingborough, in tears after hearing how her son’s body was found hanged in his cell in March 2005 while prison officers were busy in meetings.

Mr Smith, who had no previous managerial experience when he took over the segregation unit at the GSL prison near Daventry, said: “I regret Michael’s death 100 per cent and I have got to live with it. That is no consolation to Mrs Bailey but if you were there, that week was the most stressful time for Michael. Healthcare failed him, staff failed him. Everybody failed him. I am not blameless.

“At the end of the day, I should have received the correct training. We didn’t have the appropriate staffing levels in segregation to carry out the daily regime.”

The jury heard that Mr Smith had been in adjudication meetings with outside judges over inmates who had broken prison rules when Mr Bailey’s body was discovered.

Before his death, guards who were monitoring Mr Bailey under the prison’s suicide and self-harm (SASH) policy had not completed their observations of his behaviour because they were dealing with other “problematic” prisoners in the segregation unit.

Mr Smith admitted it was his responsibility to ensure records were kept after Mr Bailey repeatedly told officers he wanted to die and said demons were talking to him. Mr Smith said: “It was a very busy day. At some point, it would have been updated but I failed to do it.”

The inquest is expected to continue for three weeks.