Inquest into death of prisoner found dead in cell resumes  

Mother tells court: "I thought Craig would be safe in prison"

The inquest into the death of an inmate at the Isle of Man Prison has reconvened.

Craig Jack Anderson was found dead in his cell at the Jurby facility, just after 7.30am, on 25 November 2022.

The 28-year-old had been sentenced to five years in prison, during an appearance at the Court of General Gaol Delivery, a day earlier.

Jury Inquest

Today (15 April) a jury of seven people - five women and two men - were sworn-in at Douglas Courthouse.

Inquests are held in front of a jury if a death occurs in prison or police custody – jurors are directed on matters of law by the Coroner of Inquests before deciding on an appropriate verdict.

Evidence from more than 60 witnesses will be presented to the jury over the next 10 days.

This morning jurors were also given a report to read from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman which was commissioned, following Mr Anderson’s death, by the Department of Home Affairs.

The PPO carries out independent investigations into complaints and deaths in custody.

Coroner of Inquests Graeme Cook told jurors they were there to listen to the facts of the case and make their own decisions about what happened to Mr Anderson and why he died.

He added they were not there to determine guilt or innocence adding: “No-one is on trial – least of all the deceased.”

Jurors were told Mr Anderson’s death was the second of three deaths in custody since 2020.

"This is not a public inquiry into the prison or Manx Care." - Coroner of Inquests Graeme Cook

'Vicious Cycle'

Mr Anderson’s mother – Jane Anderson – was the first witness to give evidence to the inquest.

The jury heard about her son’s childhood and the later struggles he’d faced with substance misuse, ‘toxic’ relationships and being ‘in and out of prison’.

She detailed the impact this had had on his mental health and revealed that in June 2022 her son had spent a week at Manannan Court after he was sectioned voluntarily.

Before this Mrs Anderson said he’d ‘begged’ for assistance from the mental health service but hadn’t received it.

However the jury was told that, on 24 June 2022, Mr Anderson was discharged from the facility despite having nowhere to live, no money and no credit on his phone.

His mother was so concerned she emailed Health and Social Care Minister Lawrie Hooper two days later.

A copy of her email was read to the court.

'Absolute Farce'

Mrs Anderson told Mr Hooper it was her view that mental health provision was an ‘absolute farce’ and her son had received ‘no support’ for at least 14 years which had left him suicidal.

“He has done some terrible things,” she acknowledged adding Mr Anderson had been left ‘bouncing from one mental health crisis to another’.

Mrs Anderson told Mr Hooper she’d seen a ‘marked improvement’ in her son during his time at Manannan Court but he’d been left, on his discharge, with ‘no safe place to stay’.

Expressing her concerns about the lack of residential accommodation for vulnerable people she added: “It’s a vicious cycle for my son.”

She also queried why Mr Anderson couldn’t access mental heath support whilst he was under the care of the Drug and Alcohol Team.

Two days later a civil servant responded to her email asking her to provide her son’s name and date of birth.

Mrs Anderson told the court she’d replied with the details requested; she also asked for a care package to be looked into telling the government employee: “I’m deeply, deeply concerned.”

She received no further reply from Manx Care and no reply from the minister.

"It's a vicious cycle for my son." - Jane Anderson (Mother)

'Agitated'

On 22 July 2022 Mrs Anderson raised concerns about her son’s mental health again after a conversation with him in which he seemed ‘distressed and manic’.

He was reported as a missing person and Mrs Anderson said she felt he would go on to commit a crime so that he could go back into prison which he subsequently did.    

Following this the jury was told contact between her and her son was ‘random’ and he became ‘agitated and worked up’ after expressing a desire to be transferred to a UK prison for a ‘fresh start’.

At that point Mrs Anderson said she didn’t believe he’d been seen by any mental health professionals whilst in custody.

Sentence

Mr Anderson was sentenced for the offence he'd committed in the July on 24 November 2022; after the court proceedings he was seen punching a wall. 

However Mrs Anderson told the court she’d been ‘surprised’ when she was told this as she’d spoken to him following his sentencing and he’d received the prison sentence he was expecting.

“He seemed a bit too happy,” she told the court.  

The jury heard one of Mr Anderson's friends had raised their own concerns about his mental health following his sentencing and had contacted the prison directly. 

In response to this Mrs Anderson said: “I struggle to understand why something wasn’t done. I always thought Craig would be safe in prison.”

Inquest Continues

The inquest will continue tomorrow (16 April).