Prison Worker's Neglect Leads to Inmate's Death

0:00On April 8th, a prison worker at Norwich Prison named James Smith, 44 years old, got busted for sleeping through his night shift instead of checking on vulnerable inmates. One of them, Alistair Mackenzie, a diagnosed schizophrenic who'd been skipping his meds and had tried to hurt himself before, ended up hanging himself. In a cell early that morning, Smith was on duty from 9.30 p.m. on October 14th, 2021 until 6.40 a.m. the next day. He was supposed to check Mackenzie every 30 minutes and hit 19 visits total, but he only did too. He also skipped 15 checks on eight other at-risk guys in the category B and C facility. The M.A. sister called him a kind, gentle man, and she shared how knowing he was left alone in his final hours brought deep grief to the family. Mackenzie had been locked up just eight weeks earlier for arson after starting a fire in his flat that nearly killed him from smoke. PC TV footage exposed Smith's lies when he faked his logbook after the body was found

1:01around 9.00 a.m. He admitted to neglecting his public duties and the judge slammed his deliberate failings for leaving vulnerable prisoners unchecked for long, stretches. In the end, Smith walked with a 14-month suspended sentence, plus 150 hours of unpaid work since he's a single dad to two kids. His one-lapse after 12 years on the job cost a life, and it shines a light on how critical those routine checks really are.