Prisoner, 20, found dead after hiding contraband in his body under pressure from 'well-known' inmates
Stephen Ryan Watson had an 'intimidating' encounter with two prisoners, who appeared to instruct him to retrieve contraband from netting over the yard in Cloverhill Prison
A 20-year-old prisoner was found dead in his cell hours after secreting contraband inside his body under pressure from two well-known, high-profile inmates, an investigation has found.
Stephen Ryan Watson from Blanchardstown had been committed to Cloverhill Prison on remand on April 7, 2021, facing a charge of theft for allegedly stealing an iPhone.
He was described as “pleasant and cooperative” by prison staff, and told doctors during his committal interviews that he didn’t use illicit drugs.
However, he was spotted by prison officers throwing an object at netting over an exercise yard on April 24 in an attempt to retrieve contraband items that had been fired over the wall from outside using a slingshot.
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He was told to stop but defied the instruction and was subsequently the subject of a P19 disciplinary action. The prisoner was caught doing the same thing the following day, and was issued with another P19.
Prison staff noted that he “just accepted” the disciplinary action and was “quiet and calm as normal”, according to an investigation report by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP).
On April 26, Mr Ryan Watson was spotted throwing a bottle at the overhead netting for a third consecutive day. CCTV footage later suggested that he may have been coerced to retrieve the contraband by some of his fellow inmates.
The video showed the 20-year-old at the rear of a large group of prisoners, watching one of them throwing a bottle at contraband that was stuck in the netting. That inmate was removed from the yard and the group dispersed.
A group then gathered around Mr Ryan Watson and two prisoners were seen pointing up and down, appearing to make demands of the young man. One of them removed his top and tensed his upper body.
“The body language appeared aggressive/intimidating in nature,” the inspection report noted. “These prisoners appeared to be giving direction to [Mr Ryan Watson] to throw a drinks bottle at the overhead netting and to pick up items which fell from the netting.”
Mr Ryan Watson was not named in the report, but his mother Laura Watson has previously spoken publicly about his death at Cloverhill Prison.
He seemed uncomfortable with the interaction involving the two prisoners, who the report said were “well-known” and “high-profile” inmates who were on remand and facing charges for serious offences.
After some hesitation, Mr Ryan Watson picked up the bottle and began throwing it at the netting. He threw it more than 20 times and picked up items that fell to the ground on eight occasions.
He was seen on CCTV handing items to other prisoners. The two inmates who had confronted him began to circle the yard with him, and waited outside as he entered a toilet.
When he emerged from the toilet, however, a prison officer was waiting and instructed him to leave the yard. He was eventually escorted to the reception area to be searched.
He handed officers a small amount of contraband from his pocket, and the body-orifice security scanner detected a metallic item. Mr Ryan Watson admitted that he “had stuff inside him”.
Prison staff believed the metallic object may have been a phone, and a decision was made to place the inmate in a close supervision cell, which is for vulnerable or disruptive prisoners, or those who need to be separated from others for safety reasons.
He was checked every 15 minutes and made a number of routine requests between 9pm and 2am that night, asking for tobacco, seeking assistance with the TV, and asking for the TV to be turned off when he wanted to sleep.
The officer on duty said Mr Ryan Watson “appeared to be asleep” every time he checked on him after 2am. However, when his cell was unlocked at 8:49am, he was unresponsive.
A nurse officer recalled that he was lying on his bed with his legs crossed, his right hand behind his head, and his left hand resting on his chest. He had no pulse, was cold, and rigor mortis had already set in.
A governor stated afterwards that close supervision should be used where there was a suspicion that a mobile phone was being concealed. However, a safety observation cell should have been used if there was a possibility that the metallic item contained drugs.
In its inspection report, the OIP made five recommendations arising from the death of Mr Ryan Watson, including the development of a healthcare-focused policy to respond to safety risks posed by the internal secretion of contraband.
It also advocated that healthcare professionals should play a central role in decision making regarding the supervision and care of prisoners where internal secretion of drugs is suspected.
The Irish Prison Service should also intensify its efforts to physically prevent contraband from entering facilities, as well as intensifying its engagement with stakeholders like An Garda Síochána to combat the influx of contraband.
Speaking to Dublin Live in the weeks after Mr Ryan Watson died, his mother Laura said he was going to be released on May 30 and was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday at home.
“We thought as parents it’d be best that he did his time. We thought we were going to get him back, but we didn’t. I thought it’d be safer for him to be in there and safer for everybody,” she said.
“He rang me the day he died and he sounded absolutely fine. He even said to me: ‘Mum, I love you and can tell my dad I love him?’
“I was going to post the bail before his birthday. He was really excited he was getting out.”
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