Report of the Inquiry into the circumstances of the Death of Bernard ...

and to Sonny’s wing. A health care officer in reception and later a wing officer spoke to
Sonny about it. Both formed the impression there was nothing to worry about. The health
care officer made a note in the medical record and the wing officer in the wing
observation book.
1.21 During this week, Sonny’s letters to his girlfriend became more and more
desperate. Again, there is no evidence that prison staff knew the content of the letters. It
is not certain how quickly his girlfriend received each letter but, early on Wednesday
morning, she telephoned the prison again and asked to speak to a chaplain. The
Methodist chaplain visited Sonny. She found him depressed, and aggrieved by a sense
of injustice, but he did not want to make a fuss on the wing and the chaplain decided to
keep her concerns within the chaplain’s team. During their conversation, Sonny said he
had thought about suicide but did not know how to kill himself.
1.22 Sonny wrote another letter to his girlfriend, probably during the night of
Wednesday/Thursday 26/27 August. He expressed despair that he would not be going
home on Friday and wrote of giving up. He felt he was being victimised.
1.23 As agreed between the chaplains, the Church Army chaplain visited Sonny on
the wing in the morning of Thursday 27 August . He said Sonny’s manner was morose.
The chaplain said he tried to encourage Sonny to take things a step at a time.
1.24 Sonny’s girlfriend visited on Thursday afternoon. During the visit, Sonny told his
girlfriend prison officers were “having a go at him again.” On the way back to the wing,
there was an altercation between Sonny and an officer. He was told he would miss
association that evening.
1.25 Sonny’s cellmate said that when he returned from the visit Sonny was feeling low
and said he was not surprised when told he was on “bang-up” that evening. The
cellmate said he wanted to stay in the cell with Sonny during association but the officers
would not let him.
1.26 Officers decided to search Sonny’s cell. The inquiry has examined the reasons
for the search, the procedure followed, and conflicting accounts of what happened.
When Sonny returned to the cell an incident occurred. Sonny is alleged to have
attempted to assault an officer. He was restrained. During the restraint he seemed to
lose consciousness or experience momentary fits. He was taken to the health care
6