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

11.6 Back in the chaplains’ office, Father McCann told his colleague, Mr Johnson, of
his conversation with Mr Lodge. Father McCann said Mr Johnson knew some
background and said he would speak to the adjudicating governor and also telephone
Ms A as Mr Lodge has requested. Father McCann had no further involvement.
Mr Johnson
11.7 Mr Johnson was the Church of England chaplain and coordinated the chaplaincy
service at the prison. He told the inquiry that he had not been directly involved in the
exchanges between Ms Lorimer and Mr Palmer on Wednesday 26 th . He had happened
to be in their office, not his own, and he remembered Mr Palmer coming back on
Thursday and saying Mr Lodge was surly but fine. Mr Johnson’s involvement really
began on Friday when Father McCann passed the case to him as duty chaplain as Mr
McCann had an appointment outside the prison. Mr Johnson said that from the
statements he made at the time he believed that he had connected Mr Lodge with the
prisoner his colleagues had seen in the days before. Father McCann had not mentioned
anything about Mr Lodge being at risk of suicide or self-harm. The concerns were about
Mr Lodge’s claim to have been assaulted by an officer. Mr Johnson spoke to the deputy
governor about this. Later he went to the segregation unit to see Mr Lodge after the
adjudication.
The adjudication
11.8 As a result of the incident in the cell Sonny Lodge was charged under Prison
Rule 47 paragraph 22 with attempted assault on Officer Bowcock.
Medical examination before the hearing
11.9 Before the adjudication, Mr Lodge was seen by the prison doctor, Dr Rozycki,
who was required to assess whether he was fit for adjudication and fit for cellular
confinement, in case the adjudicator wanted to impose cellular confinement as a
punishment. Dr Rozycki told the Prison Service investigation that he did not know Sonny
Lodge nor see his medical or prison record and that he assessed his fitness on the basis
of an examination of Mr Lodge’s mood at the time, not his history. He thought it unlikely
that knowledge of previous self-harm would have led him to make a different judgment
on the day.
11.10 Dr Rozycki has recently made a statement at the inquiry’s request. He told the
inquiry that, at the time in question, there was no Prison Service policy requirement to
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