Stephen Watson
Stephen Watson
20-year-old Irishman
In April 2021, 20-year-old Stephen Ryan Watson was found dead in his prison cell. He was in custody on charges of alleged phone theft. Prison officials did not give a cause of death, only saying it was not a suicide.
On April 27, 2021, employees of the Blanchardstown Correctional Facility, Ireland, conducted another round of prisoners. When the turn came to the cell where Watson was held, the officers found that the young man did not show signs of life. The authorities did not comment on the death of the young man, only said that it was not a suicide. The grieving mum revealed that her son had been hard to handle and she had initially refused to post the €500 bail because she was so angry at him and the alleged offence in relation to a stolen iPhone.
In May 2021, Watson’s mother is still waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine the true cause of her son’s death. In a statement, the Irish Prisons Service said it does not comment on individual prisoner cases, adding: “All deaths in custody are investigated by the Irish Prison Service, the Inspector of Prisons and An Garda Síochána, where circumstances warrant. The cause of death is determined by the Coroner office.”
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