Deceased
James Daniel Simpson
Demographics
28y, male
Date of death
2014-08-22
Finding date
2015-11-05
Cause of death
Hanging
AI-generated summary
James Daniel Simpson, a 28-year-old man incarcerated at Melbourne Assessment Prison, died by hanging on 22 August 2014, hours after being acquitted on some charges and returning to prison with expectations of future release. He experienced relationship breakdown with his girlfriend that same evening. While he had a history of depression (2008), he was assessed as S4 (lowest suicide risk) and had recently been deemed 'ok' by prison officers post-court return. His cell was non-compliant with Building Design Review Program standards but this was deemed reasonable given his low-risk classification. The coroner found James solely responsible for his death with no systemic failures in his management identified, though highlighted a staff member's inappropriate relationship with the prisoner.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
40y · Male·Unascertained
Nathan James Taylor, aged 40, died in Port Lincoln Prison on 24 March 2022 while in custody pending trial on witness interference charges. He had significant medical history including infective endocarditis with tricuspi…
35y · Male·Methylamphetamine toxicity; chronic hepatitis as contributing factor
Phi Long Dang, a 35-year-old Vietnamese man remanded at Fulham Correctional Centre on drug trafficking charges, died from methylamphetamine toxicity on 4 August 2024. During a visit on 3 August, he likely ingested a ball…
40y · Male·Gunshot wound to neck
Benjamin Freear, aged 40, died from a gunshot wound to the neck sustained during a police siege on 8 December 2019 in rural Queensland. He had been diagnosed with ADHD in April 2018 and prescribed dexamphetamine by psych…
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —