Inquest opens into first of five deaths in a month at HMP Nottingham

On 3 June 2019 the inquest into the death of Shane Stroughton will begin, and is expected to last seven days

Stroughton was found hanged in his cell on the induction unit of HMP Nottingham on 13 September 2017. He could not be resuscitated. He had a well-documented history of depression and anxiety. His death was the first of five in a four-week period at the prison.

Following an inspection in January 2018 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) took the then unprecedented step to issue an Urgent Notification in relation to HMP Nottingham. HMIP found the prison to be fundamentally unsafe for the third time in a row. They said there was “irrefutable evidence" of a failure to respond to the previous inspection findings and it was "extraordinary" there had not been a more "robust" response.

Stroughton was jailed for assault aged 19 and given an Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP). He was released by the parole board on 13 June 2017. He had served in excess of six years over his original tariff. It was his first release on license.

The inquest will hear that on 30 June, Stroughton left his bail hostel after curfew. The following day he handed himself into the police and his licence was revoked and he was sent to HMP Nottingham.

The inquest will consider:

• The prisons Suicide and self-harm monitoring under the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork procedures
• The actions of the mental health team and healthcare
• The response to the concerns raised by Stroughton’s family
• The events of 13 September 2017

There were seven deaths at HMP Nottingham from February to October 2017, all but one was self-inflicted. 

* INQUEST https://www.inquest.org.uk/

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