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

centre for examination, then to the segregation unit, where he spent the night, before a
governor’s adjudication the next morning.
1.27 The governor appointed to investigate the circumstances of Sonny Lodge’s death
asked the police to investigate the incident in the cell. The officers were interviewed
under caution. The Crown Prosecution Service found there were no grounds to
prosecute. As a result of an investigation in September 1999 two officers and a senior
officer received “informal warnings” for not completing records about the cell search and
the use of control and restraint. The senior officer received an additional informal
warning for not ensuring that the search forms were completed. The informal warnings to
the officers were later withdrawn as a result of grievance proceedings because there had
been no formal disciplinary process.
In the segregation unit
1.28 A chaplain is required to visit all prisoners in the segregation unit once a day. The
Roman Catholic chaplain saw Sonny Lodge early in the morning without prior knowledge
of him. In statements made after Sonny’s death the chaplain said Sonny told him an
officer had hit him in the face, saying it was for the officer whom he allegedly assaulted
at Risley. The chaplain said that he told the senior officer in charge of the unit that Sonny
seemed low and fed up.
1.29 Sonny asked the chaplain to telephone his girlfriend to say he would not be
discharged that day unless his application to a judge for bail was successful. The Church
of England chaplain was aware that Sonny’s girlfriend had spoken to the Methodist
chaplain earlier in the week. He said he would telephone Sonny’s girlfriend and also told
the Deputy Governor that Sonny would be alleging that he had been assaulted by an
officer. The Deputy Governor passed the information on to the adjudicating governor.
1.30 Before the adjudication, the medical officer saw Sonny. He assessed him as fit
for adjudication and cellular confinement. He did not have access to any records and did
not know of Sonny’s history of self-harm. The clinical adviser to the investigation has
commented on the system of assessing prisoners’ fitness for adjudication and
segregation. The system has changed since 1998.
1.31 The inquiry examined the conduct and outcome of the hearing. Sonny pleaded
not guilty. He said the officer had lunged at him. The adjudicator adjourned the hearing
for a short time to call additional witnesses. He found the charge proved. The governor
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