Prisoner 'couldn't breathe with no fresh air' before he died in cell, family say
A 63-year-old prisoner with a progressive lung disease was found dead in his cell and his family believe he died due to a lack of fresh air.
Retired HGV driver Raymond Lucy, from Chadderton in Oldham, was found by his cellmate in Salford's HMP Forest Bank on July 11, 2019, an inquest heard on Monday.
The fellow prisoner, who said he was certain Raymond was dead when he found him, added that two air vents in their cell had been painted over, leaving them completely blocked. The only air entering the room was through a gap under their door.
His partner and ex-wife, Margaret, told the court how Mr Lucy had tried to remedy the situation by poking through the painted over holes using a small piece of wire. When he asked to be moved to a cell for disabled inmates, a guard shut him down, saying: "Well you are not in a wheelchair, are you?"
In a statement, Margaret said that Raymond was "frightened" and believed he was going to die as a result of the inadequate air supply. She said: "He told me that he was frightened that he could not breathe - and thought he was going to die."
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He had been diagnosed with COPD but wasn't allowed in a cell for prisoners with disabilites, it has been claimed (MEN Media)Raymond's family told the inquest how they were concerned about the healthcare offered to him while locked up in Pendlebury, a Category B prison. He suffered with "moderate" chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which was severe enough that he needed a nebuliser to help him breathe.
The inquest heard Mr Lucy had no real respiratory issues or cough prior to him going into Forest Bank, but in 2016 had been diagnosed with 'mild' COPD and put on a 'self-management plan' of antibiotics and steroids, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Mr Lucy, who was a heavy drinker, received an inhaler and an 'emergency pack' of the drugs after his diagnosis, which was then upped to moderate. He also had mobility issues after previously breaking his back in three places and injuring his neck. He entered the prison in April, 2019.
Margaret said she was planning to remarry Raymond after they got divorced (MEN Media)Ms Murphy said they were planning to marry again after divorcing and she visited twice a week, speaking over the phone four times a day. She said he had initial concerns over his bed - he was given a top bunk at first - and how cold it was inside his initial cell. She said 'within two weeks' of his remand, he started to have chest problems, complained of a cough and a lack of fresh air in his cell.
Ms Murphy, who reverted to using her maiden name, claimed 'there was only a certain day' he could see a nurse, and they would decide whether he should go on to see a doctor. He was then moved to a different cell and given a lower bunk, the inquest heard. She said he would complain to nurses that he was struggled to breathe when he was 'locked in his cell'.
He was allowed outside, but the inquest heard his daily allotted time was early in the morning, and he was scared of the cold air affecting him. Ms Murphy said Mr Lucy was 'often told that he was okay' and put down to see a doctor the next day. Recalling one occasion, she said he went on to be told by a doctor his lungs were 'crackling'. She said: "One doctor did say to him 'how long have you been like this?' He said 'four days since I told the nurse'."
Ms Murphy said he lost weight and that she felt 'he was in deteriorating physical health'. The inquest, at Bolton Coroners' Court, heard a statement from his cellmate and friend, who said they went to sleep in their cell on July 11 and he was woken up at 2am by Mr Lucy using his nebuliser. At 7am, he woke to find him dead with the nebuliser on and the mask on the floor.
Ms Murphy said he 'described the cell spot on'. She visited after his death. She said: "Underneath the window is a vent and it was painted over lots and lots of times. It had tiny holes in it that were blocked up."
A wall vent above a toilet in the cell had also been painted over and was 'blocked up completely', she added. "The only air was whatever the gap was under his cell door," she said. "There was no fresh air going into that room whatsoever." She claimed there was 'a lot of lockdowns' and Mr Lucy was told by a guard cell doors couldn't be left open during the day.She added: "I can only say how many times Ray would complain and visit the nurses. He felt that he was not being listened to. Nothing ever seemed to get followed up."
Ms Murphy said she saw him on July 7. She said he was 'shaking' and did not look well. She said she told him to ask the prison for a cell with a window, but he said he wasn't confident doing that. A day before he died, she visited him again, the inquest heard. She said 'his colour was like a grey' and he 'looked dreadful'. "I noticed straight away he was talking quietly and from his throat, not from his chest," Ms Murphy said. "He looked dreadful and he said he felt dreadful.
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"He was concerned about going to sleep [in his cell]. He said he was frightened because he could not breathe. He said he was scared that if he went to sleep, he would not wake up again because he could not breathe in that room. I never saw him again." In a statement read out, she added: "He told me that he was frightened that he could not breathe and thought he was going to die."
Ms Murphy said the family believe he would have received better medical care at home and been able to use the emergency drugs pack. "At home he would not have kept putting himself in a small, tiny room without ventilation," she added in evidence. "There was no air in the room. I saw with my own eyes. There was no ventilation coming into that room. He spent so many hours in that cell without oxygen."
Mr Lucy's provisional cause of death was given at a previous hearing as acute exacerbation of asthma in combination with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) syndrome and cardiac enlargement. The inquest is listed for three days.
The Mirror has contacted the Ministry of Justice and is awaiting a comment on Raymond's case.
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