We must treat inmates better

Ignoring any human being who is coughing up blood and begging for medical help has no place in a civilised country.

Yet that appears to be exactly what happened in the case of Calum Inglis, a prisoner at HMP Addiewell, in West Lothian, who later died of Covid-19.

His family say the 34-year-old repeatedly asked for help for four days but died alone and in agony.

Calum was no angel – something his family openly acknowledge.

But the point about human rights is that they apply to everyone, no matter their background or behaviour.

The Scottish Government’s response to this shocking case has been predictably sympathetic.

Thoughts are with the fami ly and Holyrood ministers fully understand the desire for prompt answers.

But the problem is those prompt answers will almost certainly not be delivered and unacceptable prison deaths occur with tragic frequency in Scotland.

In 2015, Allan Marshall, 30, died after being brutally restrained by officers at Saughton prison in Edinburgh.

The Sunday Mail went to court to reveal footage of Allan being dragged naked down a corridor with a towel held over his face.

In June 2018, university student Katie Allan, 21, died at Polmont Young Offenders Institution, in Stirlingshire.

She had been suffering from depression and took her own life.

Katie was one of five young people to commit suicide at Polmont – along with Jack McKenzie, William Lindsay, Robert Wagstaff and Liam Kerr.

Their families, who have committed no crime, will live with the heartbreak forever.

All deaths behind bars are the subject of a fatal accident inquiry but loved ones can be left waiting years for investigations to be concluded.

This isn’t about Calum’s character, or that of these other victims, it’s about the kind of society we want to live in.

Nobody is suggesting jail should be fun – criminals deserve to be punished.

But if we want convicts to change their ways and behave like human beings, we need to treat them like human beings.