Inquest into Eastleigh man who died in HMP Winchester begins

Shelly Steadman said those words while addressing an inquest into the death of her son, Craig, who died at Winchester prison on February 27, 2022. The inquest is scheduled to last eight days at Winchester Coroners’ Court.

As previously reported, Mrs Steadman and her family, from Eastleigh, have been waiting more than two years for the inquest to take place, with coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp apologising to the family for the long wait.

Mrs Steadman said that her son had been in and out of prison since the age of 16 for non-violent offences, and that despite struggling with heroin and cocaine usage, he was a “loving and caring man”.

Craig Steadman (Image: Contributed)

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She told the inquest: “He remembered small details, like sending birthday cards. He was emotionally open, and he loved the church. He was someone people loved to be around.

“We believed that he would be safe in prison, and we have been left devastated. He was a loved son, grandson and brother and I am living a nightmare and so are we all.”

Mrs Steadman said that Mr Steadman had diabetes and struggled with his mental health.

A post-mortem by Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue, who concluded that the cause of Mr Steadman’s death was hanging. The pathologist said that he believed that Mr Steadman had taken his own life due to the evidence available to him, and noted self-inflicted wounds on the deceased’s forearms and throat.

Dean Sinclair, head of safety at Winchester Prison, explained that Mr Steadman had been recalled to prison on January 13, 2022 and that the staff knew him from previous imprisonments there and in Reading.

He added that Mr Steadman’s medical history was also known by several members of staff, including cases of Mr Steadman self-harming.

Mr Steadman later attempted to take his own life on February 17 by an overdose Assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) monitoring was put in place.

However, Mr Sinclair said that the ACCT monitoring was dropped the next day after Mr Steadman seemed to recover and improve. Another ACCT was put in place on February 26 after Mr Steadman made another attempt on his life, with observations to take place twice an hour by staff.

However, Mr Steadman died on February 27, the inquest heard.

SEE ALSO: ‘It’s killing us’: Family waiting for inquest two years after son died in prison

When questioned by Cian Murphy, a representative for Mr Steadman’s family, if his risk of self-harm had not been properly assessed, Mr Sinclair replied “Yes.

“The closure of the initial ACCT (on February 17) was premature.

“His risk of self-harm should have been taken into account. The induction officer asked if he had any thoughts of self-harm and Mr Steadman said no. His history was available.”

The inquest continues.