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02/10/2009
Staff Suspended Over NI Prison Death
Four prison staff have been removed from their posts today after a high level investigation into a death in custody moved closer to its conclusion.
The major investigation was launched at the high-security Maghaberry prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim after the second apparent suicide of an inmate in just over a year.
Convicted sex offender John Anthony Deery, 50, died in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital at the end of August after being found hanging in a cell in the medical centre at the jail.
This afternoon, the Northern Ireland Prisons Service (NIPS) revealed that it had suspended four personnel - described as 'healthcare' members of staff - following the investigation by the NI Prisoner Ombudsman into the death in custody on August 28 of John Deery.
An official statement also said that an immediate disciplinary investigation had also commenced.
NIPS Director General Robin Masefield said: "I am deeply concerned at the circumstances surrounding this death in custody.
"If the outcome of disciplinary investigation requires it, robust action will follow," he said.
"As the internal disciplinary investigation and the Ombudsman's investigation are both ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."
The death of Mr Deery came just a year after another prisoner - 34-year-old Colin Bell - hanged himself in the jail, and only five weeks after a damning inspectors' report on safety standards criticised the monitoring procedures for vulnerable inmates.
The Former Governor Alan Longwell and his deputy, Steve Davis, were removed from their posts and other staff disciplined after an independent probe into Mr Bell's death discovered that wardens who were supposed to be checking the high-risk inmate were lying on beds watching TV.
The latest prisoner to die, Mr Deery, was from the Londonderry area and was jailed in 2003 after admitting indecently assaulting five girls between 1975 and 2002.
He had been released on conditions and had only recently returned to Maghaberry after breaching a custody probation order.
The current governor, Steve Rodford, had been in position for just a month when the latest death in custody occurred.
See: Prison Suicide Watch Fails - Again
(BMcC)
The major investigation was launched at the high-security Maghaberry prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim after the second apparent suicide of an inmate in just over a year.
Convicted sex offender John Anthony Deery, 50, died in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital at the end of August after being found hanging in a cell in the medical centre at the jail.
This afternoon, the Northern Ireland Prisons Service (NIPS) revealed that it had suspended four personnel - described as 'healthcare' members of staff - following the investigation by the NI Prisoner Ombudsman into the death in custody on August 28 of John Deery.
An official statement also said that an immediate disciplinary investigation had also commenced.
NIPS Director General Robin Masefield said: "I am deeply concerned at the circumstances surrounding this death in custody.
"If the outcome of disciplinary investigation requires it, robust action will follow," he said.
"As the internal disciplinary investigation and the Ombudsman's investigation are both ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."
The death of Mr Deery came just a year after another prisoner - 34-year-old Colin Bell - hanged himself in the jail, and only five weeks after a damning inspectors' report on safety standards criticised the monitoring procedures for vulnerable inmates.
The Former Governor Alan Longwell and his deputy, Steve Davis, were removed from their posts and other staff disciplined after an independent probe into Mr Bell's death discovered that wardens who were supposed to be checking the high-risk inmate were lying on beds watching TV.
The latest prisoner to die, Mr Deery, was from the Londonderry area and was jailed in 2003 after admitting indecently assaulting five girls between 1975 and 2002.
He had been released on conditions and had only recently returned to Maghaberry after breaching a custody probation order.
The current governor, Steve Rodford, had been in position for just a month when the latest death in custody occurred.
See: Prison Suicide Watch Fails - Again
(BMcC)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:Dry, bright start this morning with best of sunshine in the west. Thickening cloud over Down and Antrim this morning with a few showers, extending westwards this afternoon. Lighter winds. Maximum temperature 16 °C.Tonight:Rather cloudy and mainly dry at first, then showery outbreaks of rain extending westwards to most places during the night, turning heavier towards morning. Light winds. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
