Inquest into the death of CJ
Demographics
56y, male
Date of death
2020-12-31
Finding date
2023-06-06
Cause of death
hanging (neck compression)
AI-generated summary
CJ, a 56-year-old man, died by hanging in custody at Bathurst Correctional Centre on 31 December 2020, shortly after the suicide of his son in June 2020. He had recently been remanded in custody on domestic violence charges. Initial screening at Parklea Correctional Centre identified depression and his son's suicide but recorded no self-harm ideation, and he was cleared for normal cell placement. An independent psychiatric expert concluded the identified risk factors did not warrant clinical intervention and that knowledge of emotional volatility in phone calls would unlikely have changed suicide risk assessment without explicit disclosure of intent. Key issues identified were that family concerns about inmate welfare were not readily accessible through public health service websites, and the prison culture may discourage disclosure of mental health concerns due to perceived loss of privileges. The coroner made recommendations to improve public accessibility of mental health hotline contact details for concerned family and friends.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- recent suicide death of son
- domestic violence charges and custody remand
- history of depression
- emotionally volatile state evidenced in telephone calls
- alone cell placement from 30 December 2020
- prison culture discouraging disclosure of mental health concerns
- perceived consequences of risk status change affecting cell privileges
Coroner's recommendations
- Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network to make clear on its public-facing web page that the Justice Health Mental Health Hotline does not operate in respect of inmates held at Parklea Correctional Centre and provide contact details for mental health concerns at Parklea
- Management & Training Corporation Pty Limited to implement changes to its website to make clear that members of the public with concerns about inmate mental health at Parklea Correctional Centre should contact MTC rather than Corrective Services NSW or Justice Health, with a direct link to the appropriate number on the front page of its public-facing website
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