Prisons Fail Fire Safety: Inmate Deaths Mount

0:00A new report from the Howard League for Pina Reform calls out over 60 prisons, including HMP stocking near Okam for failing basic fire safety. Standards The government promised to fix high-risk cells or shut them down by the end of 2027, but they ditched that deadline with no new one in. Sight Freedom of information requests expose how the Ministry of Justice backed out on those upgrades. Stocking stands out as one of seven prisons on the list, with a deadly fire in the past 15 years, where a 42-year-old inmate died from smoke. Inhalation on July 11 last year, after his cell smoted for two hours undetected, the corner rule that staff had tampered with fire alarms across the prison by stuffing rubber gloves into panels to silence buzzers. A systemic issue This wasn't the first slip-up for that inmate. Four months earlier on March 19th, he started another self-fire, but rang his own bell to get. Up and needed CPR plus, three days in hospital.

1:00Investigators found the alarm on his wing had been silenced for a full year before that first blaze, and wing panels don't even connect to the main. Control room for oversight Meanwhile, over 40 prisons were still waiting for in-cell fire detectors last autumn, with at least 11 inmate deaths in cell fire since the government first admitted the problem. Prison reform leaders are slamming this as a national scandal after nearly two decades of delays, leaving families heartbroken over broken promises. Officials say they're waiting on full investigations before responding fully, but the urgency for real fixes is louder than ever. From your city, powered by AI, this is Lester News Today. I'm Corey with The Story