A SOLICITORrepresenting a Derry man who blinded himself while being watched by prison officers has said the family want the resignation or dismissal of all who had a duty of care to him.
A Prisoner Ombudsman report revealed that Sean Lynch (25) blinded himself and inflicted an 8cm cut to his testicles while being observed by staff in Maghaberry jail in June 2014.
The report said that during the most extreme episode of self-harm over a three-day period, two prison officers watched Mr Lynch injure himself on more than 20 occasions and failed to intervene.
Ombudsman Tom McGonigle said staff had complied with a "strict interpretation" of orders on intervention, with Mr Lynch not meeting the definition of a life-threatening situation.
He said: “Their (prison staff) duty of care was trumped by security concerns that appear to have had little basis in reality.”
The report was heavily critical of the way in which prison staff dealt with Mr Lynch, who was on remand at the time for breaching bail conditions.
The ombudsman revealed that when the Derry man was admitted to prison in April 2014, a doctor’s letter recommending he receive treatment for his mental condition was given to staff. However, it was a further two weeks before he was seen by a psychiatrist.
Prison Service director general Sue McAllister said the case was "shocking and tragic" but refused to apportion blame for the way Mr Lynch was treated.
Derry solicitor Kevin Casey said his family are furious that no-one from the Northern Ireland Prison Service has apologised for what happened.
“Ms McAllister offered to meet Mr Lynch and his family. I have been talking to Sean’s father, Damien, today and his view is that the only way he would meet Ms McAllister would be to be told by her that she was resigning immediately over what happened,” he said.
The lawyer said the family believed that anything short of the resignation or sacking of the staff involved along with the governor of Maghaberry showed the Prison Service had failed to learn anything from Mr Lynch’s case.
“Mr Lynch’s family has contrasted the Prison Service approach with that of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. A senior nursing manager from the trust personally acknowledged its shortcomings with his family and worked with them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Casey confirmed that an outstanding assault charge against his client arising from an incident involving a prison warder during the self-harm episodes has been withdrawn.
