Inquest told of prisoner's drug death
A 24-hour ‘lock-down’ of prisoners in St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin would not stop drugs being smuggled in illegally, the deputy governor said today.
Seamus Cramer of the prison said officers worked hard to stop drugs getting in, as he spoke at the inquest of John Paul Mitchell, 20, of Orchard Park, The Curragh, Co Kildare, who died with massive amounts of ecstasy in his system.
Mr Mitchell was discovered dead in his bed on a drug-free wing of the prison for 16 to 21-year-olds on December 13, 2003.
His father Ignatius said the family was devastated and they raised a number of concerns including the availability of drugs in the prison, the checking system of prisoners and the way the body was presented to him in the State mortuary.
“Last year on December 13, 2003, it was just unbearable for us. All he wanted was to be out on temporary release (last Christmas). It was so hurtful, and the way he was sent home in a body-bag…
“My life is just ruined,” he said, as he showed the coroner his son’s memorial card.
On the 24-hour lock-down Mr Cramer said: “Even at that, the ingenuity of people, they never cease to amaze me.
“Despite our best efforts to stop illegal drugs, including netting over the walls, no contact during visits, random cell-searches and random searches after visits, drugs are still smuggled in.”
The deceased, who was on the drug-free wing, D3, had one positive test for amphetamines but had had 16 completely clean tests since then, including one on the day before he died.
One of the prison officers said they did their best to keep prisoners on the drug-free wing separate from others.
The court heard the prisoner was checked on a half-hourly basis through the flap on his door.
However, the Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard his face could not be seen during these checks.
The Mitchell family questioned whether this was sufficient.
Around eight prison officers gave evidence and they all said they found nothing unusual on the night of his death.
The inquest heard Mr Mitchell had a history of drug use, including taking ecstasy every day when he was 14-years-old, but had been doing his best to remain drug-free.
The State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy, said that ecstasy found in his system was 10 times that of a normal dose of the drug and he died of ecstasy toxicity.
On an earlier occasion, the court heard that Ignatius Mitchell said: “It was unbearable,” and “You wouldn’t do it to a dog”, referring to the way his son was presented to him in the City Mortuary.
However, Dr Brian Farrell said the mortuary technician had “utterly rejected” this.
The family’s solicitor said they would consider over the next few weeks whether to ask the coroner to inquire into this.
The jury passed a verdict of death by misadventure.
