Inquest into death of prisoner resumes

Craig Anderson died in his cell at Jurby Prison

An inquest into the death of a prisoner on the Isle of Man has resumed.

Craig Anderson died at Jurby prison on 25 November 2022.

Mr Anderson, who was 28 at the time, was found unresponsive in his cell at 7:33 GMT and was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.

He had been sentenced to five years imprisonment the day before his death, and had punched the wall and said, "I don't want to be here anymore", the inquest heard.

In a statement, his mum Jane Anderson said she "struggled to understand why something wasn't done" considering her son's reaction in court.

She said the prison had been called by a friend who was concerned about his mental health the night before his death.

She added: "I thought he would be safe in prison".

A jury of five women and two men heard that the father-of-three had long-standing issues with his mental health, substance misuse and toxic relationships and had been in and out of prison since the age of 18.

'Turned away'

His friend Abigail Faragher said she had contacted the prison about his mental health on a number of occasions, but he had not been seen by a psychiatrist.

In a statement, she said: "I feel Craig was failed by the mental health service."

When Mr Anderson was settled he would work in scaffolding and road surfacing.

In June 2022, Mrs Anderson wrote to the then Minister for Health and Social Care asking for her son to be seen by mental health services.

She said she was "deeply concerned" about his mental health adding that "he seems to be turned away at every stage".

The following month he was reported missing.

Mrs Anderson told officers he would "commit a crime so he would end up in prison".

Mr Anderson had been on remand since July 2022, and had requested to be transferred to a UK prison.

The inquest heard that in calls to friends and family the night before his death, Mr Anderson seemed "happy", had expected the sentence he received, and was planning for what he was going to do when he got out of prison.

Deemster Graeme Cook told the hearing at Douglas Courthouse Mr Anderson’s death had been the second of three deaths in custody since 2020.

The inquest continues.