Campaign after student’s cell suicide
BY CONOR RIORDAN THE parents of a young woman who killed herself in jail yesterday launched a campaign calling for a review of the prison system.
Katie Allan’s parents Linda and Stuart believe bullying, “humiliating” strip searches and lack of concern about her deteriorating mental health in Polmont jail led to her suicide.
They want the system to be overhauled.
Linda said: “The hardest thing for us to accept is how devastatingly Katie was let down by those who were ultimately responsible for her care.”
In March, Glasgow University student Katie, 21, was jailed for 16 months after she admitted injuring a teenage pedestrian while drink-driving.
In Polmont, near Falkirk, she went downhill fast. Katie self-harmed and stress made her hair fall out. She died in June.
Linda, 51, said: “Katie broke the law. She fully accepted she should be punished. But she did not deserve the horrific experiences she endured daily at the hands of the Scottish Prison Service.”
Linda and Stuart want a review of women in custody and the provision of mental health services.
Figures released by the campaign show there have been 130 deaths in Scottish prisons since 2014.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “Our sympathies are with all who have been affected by this sad death.
“All deaths that occur in Scottish prisons are subject to a fatal accident inquiry. It would be inappropriate to comment further until this takes place.”