A prisoner took his own life just weeks after being sentenced to four months in jail.
Jamie Burns was just 34 when he was found dead in his cell at HMP Low Moss in Bishopbriggs an investigation heard.
He told a prison mental health nurse he was "devastated" at the sentenced imposed by a court, but denied any thoughts of suicide or self harm, the findings of a Fatal Accident Inquiry held at Glasgow Sheriff Court concluded this week.
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Mr Burns had been placed on the prison 'Talk to Me' service, a strategy aimed at preventing suicide, but removed when he claimed he'd previously made bizarre and paranoid comments because he was in a "bad mood".
He had jailed at Falkirk Sheriff court on August 20, 2020, less than a month before his death on September 13.
The inquiry was told he refused to take prescribed methadone before he died, despite encouragement from a prison nurse, who requested a review on September 5.
Two days later, he continued to refuse his medication claiming he had been visited by a dead relative who encouraged him to take his own life, telling him he would be able to walk through walls.
The nurse made an urgent referral to the mental health team and he was seen by a qualified nurse on September 9, where he continued to voice "bizarre and grandiose statements that he has a higher purpose in life and that the end of the world is coming", and was scheduled to see the visiting psychiatrist the following week.
In the meantime efforts were taken to settle Mr Burns by prison staff, but he continued to behave erratically, and another urgent mental health referral was made and scheduled for September 14.
Sadly he took his own life on September 13, when officers discovered his body shortly after 8am when they unlocked his cell door in the jail's Clyde wing.
Publishing his findings this week, Sheriff Vincent Lunny accepted that no further precautions could have been taken that could have reasonably prevented Mr Burns' death.
He said: "There were no defects in any system of working, which contributed to his death. No submissions were made by any party that any accident had resulted in Mr Burns’ death. Nor were any submissions made to indicate that any other facts relevant to the circumstances of Mr Burns’ death fell to be included in my determination.
"It is a sad fact that mental health issues are often, of themselves, not necessarily indicative of a risk of suicide. Whilst it was clear that Mr Burns was suffering from mental ill health, he had repeatedly denied any thoughts of suicide or self-harm. His presentation on September 9, 2020, shortly before his death, was encouraging. There were no indicators that he would take his own life. Appropriate steps and treatment were taken in the prison to address Mr Burns’ health issues."
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