‘Blasé’ attitude about drug risk

COURT REPORTER A violent Airdrie thug branded one of Scotland’s “most dangerous men” was blasé about taking an overdose weeks before he was found dead in his cell, a fatal accident inquiry heard.

Gary Black’s body was discovered in his cell bed at HMP Low Moss, near Glasgow, on the morning of January 15 last year.

Staff battled to save the 29-yearold but he was later pronounced dead and a post-mortem revealed he died from “morphine and delorazepam intoxication”.

The inquiry heard that weeks earlier, on December 21, Black was found in his cell and rushed to hospital, then later discharged.

He denied taking any illegal drugs that could have led to his collapse when speaking to a doctor the following day and seemed disinterested in a conversation about the dangers of drugs.

The fatal accident inquiry into Black’s death took place at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday, when Dr

“Mr Black has greater concerns about the mess that was left in his cell by staff that were trying to save his life a few days earlier.

“He felt there was no issue; he said he was not suicidal, there was nothing untoward, it was just one of those things.”

The inquiry heard a form called ACT, now named Talk to Me, for prisoners who are reportedly feeling suicidal, should have been filled in after Black returned to prison from hospital in December 2016 and that it is now protocol for staff to implement that.

Mr Easton confirmed that, as part of that procedure, a prisoner would be put on 15 minute observations which Black had anyway, because he returned to prison out of hours and was unable to be seen by a doctor until the next day.

Mr Easton was asked about the incident weeks later and recalled arriving at work around 8.10am on January 15 when he received a call and went straight to Black’s cell.

He said by the time they got there, staff had done all they could to save