Prisoner, 34, found dead in cell after consuming sleeping pills and homemade 'hooch'
The man's parents objected to the way they were informed about his death by phone, as his mother was driving and 'could have caused an accident'
A 34-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell at Cloverhill Prison after consuming four sleeping pills and a quantity of illegal, homebrewed ‘hooch’, an investigation has found.
The prisoner was being held on remand pending trial for drug charges when he acquired up to 10 ‘zimos’ from another inmate in the exercise yard on August 11, 2021.
These are strong sleeping tablets called Zimovane, although the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) noted that the precise pharmacological content of the tablets he consumed could not be established.
READ MORE: 'The Shoeshank Redemption': Prison service to spend €1.5 million on staff footwear
The prisoner was sharing a cell with two others, and they were visited by two more inmates that evening to play cards and drink tea. He was in good form and was talking about his son, according to the other prisoners.
He and his cellmates drank around two litres of hooch between them, and one of them told the OIP that it “had quite an effect”. Hooch is a potent and dangerous alcohol made by fermenting makeshift ingredients.
At 11:30pm, his two cellmates noticed that he was slurring his speech, and one of them placed him on a chair near the air vents in the belief that the cool air would sober him up. The other decided to sit up all night to make sure he was okay.
At 3:30am, one of the cellmates helped him to the toilet and he threw up. The cellmate then decided to give him his lower bunk because he was afraid he would fall from the top bed.
He placed him in the recovery position, and the other prisoner placed his mattress on the floor beside him to prevent him from hitting the ground if he fell. One of the prisoners agreed to stay awake for the rest of the night and turned on the TV.
At 5:30am, the other prisoner woke up and joked with his cellmate that he was watching children’s TV programmes. They both went to sleep, believing their friend was alright because he had not vomited since 3:30am.
At 7am, one of the prisoners woke to use the toilet and noticed soiled bed clothes on the lower bunk and realised the man had been sick again. He was making a gargling sound but was unresponsive.
The two cellmates started CPR and hit the cell call system button, as well as shouting to other prisoners to make noise and attract the attention of the officers on duty.
When the cell door was opened, prison staff said the two cellmates were in panic, saying “We can’t wake him up!” and “He’s after getting sick and we can’t wake him!”
The nurse who attended the scene said the inmate was unresponsive and cold to the touch. He had no pulse and there was dry blood visible on his face and bed clothes. A defibrillator was used in an effort to resuscitate him, and an ambulance was called.
These efforts were unsuccessful, however, and he was pronounced deceased by a doctor at 9:05am.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the prison chaplain tried to contact the prisoner’s mother and father by telephone to inform them of their son’s death. He succeeded in getting through to his father, and left a voice message telling his mother to return the call.
The prison governor told the OIP that it had not been possible for the chaplain to inform the parents in person due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, they took issue with the way the news was communicated.
The man’s mother, in particular, said she was thankful to have missed the chaplain’s calls as she had been driving. If she had answered, there may have been an accident. When her ex-husband managed to reach her, he asked her to park up before telling her, and she was unable to drive home.
It was the second death at Cloverhill Prison in 2021, and the OIP reiterated the same recommendations that prison authorities should intensify efforts to prevent contraband from entering prisons and to detect it when it does.
Sign up to the Irish Mirror's daily newsletter here and get breaking news and top stories direct to your inbox.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
