Man dies in Sydney prison unit that watchdog wanted shut down because it ‘cannot provide a safe environment’

A 19-year-old man has died in a Sydney prison unit that an independent watchdog previously recommended be closed because it “simply cannot provide a safe environment”. The man was on remand, awaiting a hearing or sentencing, when he hung himself on Sunday in Long Bay correctional centre’s Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC). Corrective Service NSW said “staff commenced a medical response, but he was pronounced deceased by paramedics on Sunday”. “Corrective Services NSW and NSW police are investigating. Any death in custody is immediately reported to the NSW coroner and subject to a compulsory, rigorous public inquiry,” a spokesperson said. Last year, there was a record number of adults being held on remand in New South Wales and a record number of Indigenous adults in custody. There was a record number of Indigenous deaths in custody. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The inspector for custodial services in December recommended three out of five units at Long Bay – including the MSPC – be permanently closed after it was inspected in 2023 and 2024. The report described the rooms in MSPC as being run-down and small, with little natural light or ventilation. It said the accommodation wings were “susceptible to weather conditions and extreme temperatures”. “We observed mouldy walls, rusted furniture and evidence of vermin,” the inspector, Fiona Rafter, wrote. She observed “ligature points in cells across all areas”. …