Terrorist found dead in prison cell ‘did not mean to kill himself’
A CONVICTED terrorist found dead at Strangeways prison did not intend to kill himself, an inquest has ruled.
Nicky Reilly, 30, was jailed for life in 2009 over his plot to detonate home-made bombs inside busy family restaurant Giraffe.
He injured only himself after he accidentally set off a devices in a toilet at the Exeter restaurant in 2008.
Muslim convert Reilly, who changed his name to Mohammed Saeed Alim, was found hanging by a ligature suspended from a light fitting in his cell at HMP Manchester on October 19, 2016, an inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court was told.
Jurors concluded it was ‘more likely than not’ that Reilly did not intend to end his life and he ‘acted impulsively’ as a result of his diagnosed conditions of Asperger syndrome and an emotionally unstable personality disorder.
Giving evidence, his tearful mother Kim said her son ‘did not fit into society,’ been a target for bullying at school and had self-harmed from a young age.
He self-harmed while being treated at high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor between 2009 and 2014, before he was transferred back to the prison estate after he attacked ward staff.
The jury was told by consultant forensic psychiatrist Dinesh Maganty that Reilly’s conditions were ‘very challenging’ and he was at ‘chronic risk’ of dying from self-harm.
It would be difficult for Reilly to understand the concept of death and there were ‘serious doubts’ whether he had the capacity to form an intent to end his life, Dr Maganty said.
Mrs Reilly visited her son at HMP Manchester – also known as Strangeways – in September 2016 and said he ‘seemed absolutely fine.’
But she said a fortnight before his death he told her in a phone call that his moods were constantly ‘up and down’ and it was ‘wearing him out.’ Coroner Joanne Kearsley said the court had heard evidence that raised ‘significant concerns’ and was likely to form part of a report to prevent future deaths.
She said she was not satisfied the Prison Service’s central management group for Reilly had a clear plan and oversight of his needs and queried why he was not under a care programme approach in which care co-ordinators are allocated to individual prisoners.