Inquest into self-inflicted death of Luke McDonnell at HMP Lincoln begins

Luke McDonnell died aged 29, following self-suspension at HMP Lincoln on 14 June 2015. His death was the second at the prison within four months and shared many common features. The inquest into his death opems on 1 October 2018 and will examine issues around risk assessment and the management of his mental health at HMP Lincoln.

McDonnell had been released from a sentence at HMP Leicester, and one day later was recalled to prison after a further offence and sent to HMP Lincoln. In HMP Leicester, he self-harmed on 14 occasions in under a month. He was being monitored under procedures for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm known as ACCT. An ACCT had been opened the day after his arrival at HMP Leicester and remained in place up to and including the day of his release.

The inquest will be asked to examine this recent history, subsequent responses to further acts of self-harm at HMP Lincoln prior to his death, and suggested reports of assault and bullying in the context of fresh ACCT procedures.

Since Luke McDonnell's death there have been three further self-inflicted deaths at the prison. The most recent report on HMP Lincoln by HM Inspectorate of Prisons highlighted that the prison had no overarching plan to monitor the implementation of key recommendations from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, relating to continued high levels of self-harm and many inadequate ACCT documents.

* INQUEST https://www.inquest.org.uk/

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