'Seven missed chances' before traumatised man, 21, died in 'Monster Mansion' jail

An inquest jury has outlined a series of 'missed opportunities' in the care of a vulnerable young prisoner who was found dead in his cell at Wakefield's maximum security prison.

Jeremie Simmons, 21, was found hanging in the segregation unit of HMP Wakefield on May 4, 2022, which resulted in a inquest into his death earlier this month.

An inquest jury, which heard evidence during a period of almost two weeks, concluded that there were a number of missed opportunities and failings in the care of Jeremie, who was serving a 13-year sentence for kidnapping and assaulting a woman in a park. He had been moved to Wakefield after assaulting a female chaplain.

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Concluding that Jeremy had taken his own life, the jury said: "After considering the evidence provided by healthcare and prison staff, the jury believe that Jeremie would have been placed on a mental health caseload if a mental health assessment had taken place at HMP Wakefield.

"The following are missed opportunities that the jury have considered that may have changed the outcome for Jeremie."

The jury outlined seven failings. These were:

• Failure to act on handover reports passed from Aylesbury prison to Wakefield

• Failure to act on a referral to the mental health team made a nurse

• No care plan completed after Jeremie had been on the segregated unit for 30 days

• Failure to act on a recommendation in a segregation review regarding a care plan

• A lack of 'promised contact' from the mental health team after Jeremie confirmed it would help to talk

• Lack of awareness among prison and healthcare staff about Jeremie's history of self-harm, attempted suicide and childhood trauma

• Lack of awareness among some staff of Jeremie's triggers for risk and his learning disability

At the start of the inquest, Jeremie's dad, Steven, said he had been told that a 'dirty protest' at the prison may have triggered traumatic childhood memories. He told the inquest: "The prison stated that a transgender prisoner had gone on a dirty protest, and this had kicked off something within Jeremie, possibly due to the treatment he received at the hands of his mother when he was three years old.

"Jeremie was not on suicide watch, and I would like to know why he was not on constant visits, if the dirty protest had caused issues for Jeremie."

The inquest concluded that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. He had left a note indicating an intention to end his life.

Following the inquest, Jeremie's dad and step mum, Maria, said they felt the prison system had let down their son. Maria said they were 'not happy' with the prison. She told Yorkshire Live: "If they had helped him then he may still be alive.

"Mental healthcare needs to improve. There were several failings and missed opportunities."

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