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The death of an Edinburgh prisoner who died behind bars ‘could not have reasonably been avoided through precautions’, it has been ruled. Connor Morrison was 24-years-old when he died at HMP Edinburgh on April 20, 2022.
He had been convicted of threatening and abusive behaviour, assault and breach of bail on March 22, 2022, and was given a sentence of 161 days in prison. Morrison was jailed the month before his death.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry into his death was launched, which determined it was ‘self-inflicted’. The purpose of an inquiry is to establish the circumstances of the death and to consider what steps, if any, may be taken to prevent other deaths in similar circumstances – and is not a hearing which apportions blame.
The determination states: “Mr Morrison’s death was self-inflicted and was not the result of an accident.
“There were no precautions which could reasonably have been taken which might realistically have resulted in Mr Morrison’s death being avoided.”
Concerns were raised in the report that it took paramedics ‘over ten minutes to get through security’ at the prison, though it was ruled that this was not a factor in his death.
Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS said: “We note the Sheriff’s determination.
“The Procurator Fiscal ensured that the full facts and circumstances of Mr Morrison’s death were presented in evidence at the mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiry.”
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