Jury Raises ‘Systematic Failures’ As Prison Officer Is Cleared Over Suicide Death

Jury Raises ‘Systematic Failures’ As Prison Officer Is Cleared Over Suicide Death

Jurors have criticised “appalling systematic failures” at a prison as they cleared an officer over the death of a suicidal inmate.

Joseph Travers, 55, was accused of breaching his duty of care by failing to remove a noose from Ryan Harvey’s cell and to prevent his death.

He was the night orderly manager at HMP Woodhill near Milton Keynes when the 23-year-old hanged himself on May 3 2015.

The defendant, who has been a prison officer for 25 years, was found not guilty of manslaughter following a trial.

The jury took 46 minutes to reach its verdict at the Old Bailey.

In an unusual move, jurors also included a written statement saying: “We would like to record our view that the case has thrown up a number of appalling systematic failures to provide frontline staff with sufficient information as to the inmate’s background.”

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