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

Chapter 16:
THE INQUIRY’S CONSIDERATION AND FINDINGS ABOUT THE INCIDENT AT
WHISTON HOSPITAL AND THE PRISON SERVICE’S RESPONSE TO IT
Introduction
16.1 The inquiry undertook to examine the circumstances of the incident at Whiston
Hospital which led to Sonny Lodge not being released on 28 August. In particular, the
inquiry undertook to examine whether the Prison Service acted or ought to have acted
on concerns expressed by a governor at HMP Garth and the Prison Service
investigation. Findings about the incident are in paragraph 16.8. Findings and
recommendations about the Prison Service’s response to the incident are in paragraphs
16.20 and 16.21.
Consideration: what happened at Whiston?
16.2 There is no conclusive evidence of what happened in the toilet cubicle. At the
adjudication that was opened and adjourned at Garth prison Sonny Lodge pleaded guilty
to a charge of assaulting Officer Brownley by pushing him backwards. The critical issue
is why Sonny Lodge pushed Officer Brownley. Officer Brownley says that it was in
response to his instruction to put out the cigarette. The record of Sonny Lodge’s
interview with the police is not available but he reportedly told others that he put the
cigarette to his mouth and the officer hit him in the face then held him round the neck.
16.3 Sonny Lodge was not unwilling to admit to wrongdoing. He was not known to
have any significant propensity for violence though he could be abusive and was
reported to have been banned from a drugs service for threatening behaviour. Sonny
Lodge admitted pushing the officer but when he was charged with grievous bodily harm,
he apparently felt a keen sense of injustice. Mr Lodge might have been acting in selfdefence,
against an actual or threatened assault on his person. His claim that he put the
cigarette to his mouth for a last draw has a ring of truth. Governor Halliwell, unprompted
by any prior knowledge, believed Mr Lodge was telling the truth. There was no evidence
that Mr Lodge sought any advantage from his allegation that Officer Brownley assaulted
him. But he was said to have been in an agitated and angry state. That might have made
him reckless. He might have pushed the officer away in resentment at the instruction or
at the officer’s intruding upon him in the toilet cubicle. Sonny’s accounts of what
happened may have been embellished over time or reported inaccurately by others.
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