Prison staff "to blame" for prisoner's death?

A truly shocking story in The Times today.

A Coroner's Court jury found that a prisoner at Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire was allowed to hang himself in a prison staff where staff were not being properly trained and were not experienced enough.

This despite the prisoner's mother alerting staff to marks on the prisoner's neck on a previous visit to her son. He had been exhibiting some strange, troubled behaviour before his suicide.

Thinking point: what are the possible consequences of allowing private companies, which exist to make a profit, to run prisons? The prison in this case was run by Group 4 Securicor which has a chequered history in relation to their prisons.

Thinking point 2: is prison the right place for mentally ill convicts? Is prison picking up some of the slack from the closure of many mental health hospitals over the years? Read a report into suicide in prisons here.

This case is also an example of the use of juries in the Coroner's Court.

Inquest, a pressure group, has called for proper treatment for mentally ill inmates.

Itunes U

...is a great source of free law lectures - although make sure you stick to the English ones so as not to get your wires crossed with the USA!

There are lectures here on prisons and trial by jury from the Open University, and one here from Oxford University on contract law. They're a bit advanced for A level so why not challenge yourself!

If you don't have iTunes/can't access these I can put them on a CD for anyone who wants them - alternatively I also have written transcripts of the Open University lectures!