Kristal Stenning’s brother, Rocky, died in HMP Chelmsford on 19 July 2018, aged 26. His death is one of the 1,500 deaths of mental health patients being investigated by the Essex mental health independent inquiry. Here is her statement to the inquiry.
“Rocky was a loving son, brother, uncle, boyfriend and brother-in-law who was always there to protect us all. Rocky taught himself to cage fight, which helped a lot with his anxiety and depression. At 14 Rocky had to deal with the worst thing imaginable, losing our dad to suicide. He really struggled with losing our dad and missed him so much.
“I’ve given evidence to this inquiry because my brother had several admissions to Basildon mental health [services] throughout the last four years of his life. This resulted in a psychiatrist, who did not take the time to get to know him at all, saying that he was fit to stand trial, which he was clearly not, as he had voiced ideas of suicide. I had even written a letter to the judge expressing my concerns over Rocky hurting himself in prison. Nobody listened.
“Rocky’s death could have been prevented. His original psychiatrist told us he was not fit for court. A different doctor, who did not know Rocky, just read his file, went against this and told them he was fit to stand trial. Also, the prison had plenty of opportunity to open an assessment, care in custody and teamwork [a plan for prisoners judged at risk of self-harm or suicide] and no one did, even though he had a history of mental health issues, had attempted suicide before and had come straight from the hospital.
“From the beginning of Rocky’s last stay in hospital to his time in prison before he died, every single person failed him – the doctors, the judge, the prison staff. All it would have taken is one person to stand up and get Rocky the help he needed and we wouldn’t be here today.
“Rocky is not a one-off case. This happened before him and it’s happened after him. They have not learned anything from the inquest into my brother’s death. They still do not take mental health issues seriously. They are still failing more people.”
