Let’s put the record straight regarding lives lost in prison

On Friday, I published in full the press release issued by the Association of Psychologists. Dr. Rachel Tua commented below my post and questioned whether it is right to have prisoners committing suicide in prison. She asked me the question what about lost lives?

Given that Dr. Rachel Tua is acting as the lawyer of Kim’s father, I wish to make the following observations in reply to her comment. 

The main accusation is that 14 prisoners died in prison.  What, however, is not being said is that not all 14 deaths were the result of suicide. Only 4 (four) were suicides. Eight (8) deaths were due to natural causes and the other two (2) were due to presumed overdose.  

We then have the issue of broken ribs. This is also being mentioned in relation to prison.  But what is the true reason for broken ribs? Am I correct in stating that ribs are often broken during cardiopulmonary resuscitation?  In other words, prisoners used to suffer cardiac problems because of substance abuse?

Hence, the slow but permanent elimination of drugs from prison has decreased the number of incidents in our prisons. Before the elimination of drugs from prison, personnel was continuously being asked to intervene and resuscitate prisoners using CPR until the ambulance arrived.

We then have the claims that are being made by Kim’s father. A person working at the prison told me that Kim’s father never visited his daughter in prison. I would appreciate it if this point can be confirmed as being true or not?  I hope that Dr. Tua will be able to give me an answer.

What is a statistical fact, is that the number of prisoners dependent on methadone has diminished. It is also a fact that Kim Borg was doing well in prison so much so that even her dependence on methadone started to decrease. Am I also correct to state that Kim Borg had numerous visits from doctors? Can Dr. Tua provide the figures? Also, Kim participated in numerous sports activities, besides a number of craft activities. She had also the facility to buy make-up and was under psychiatric observation. I am sure that if she had shown any suicidal traits, this would have been reported to the prison authorities and action would have been taken accordingly.

What Dr. Tua should establish is whether Kim Borg ever spoke of committing suicide before entering prison or after she was confined to prison.  But if Kim Borg never spoke of suicide, then, the prison authorities have no fault and Dr Tua’s comment is unjustified.

Finally, is it true that while Kim was in prison, she requested drugs and the runners failed to deliver? Was her suicide attempt related to her drug addiction? In other words, the fact that this prison had become drug-free, created psychological agitation in Kim Borg that she could not take it any longer, and even if she was slowly becoming less dependent on methadone, she still tried to commit suicide? What can be said with certainty is that Kim Borg did not die in prison. She went out of prison alive and died three weeks after in hospital.

Furthermore, do all those who are mercilessly criticizing the prison honestly want the prison to once again become a haven for hard drugs?