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The death of a transgender prisoner could have been avoided, a sheriff has ruled. Sarah Jane Riley, 29, took her own life in her cell at the Separation and Reintegration Unit (SRU) at HMP Perth on January 11, 2019. Riley, who had a Order for Lifelong Restriction, was the only person identifying as female among more than 660 men in the jail and had been held for more than nine weeks in the segregation unit because moves to relocate her to an all-female establishment were "dragging on. She took her own life shortly after being handed a letter saying her bid to be released to a female prison had been refused. A Fatal Accident Inquiry at Falkirk Sheriff Court has ruled that a defect which could have been avoided led to her death. Sheriff Pino Di Emidio made eight recommendations following a number of "missed opportunities". Among the recommendations was a new system for a "psychological formulation" for prisoners with an OLR with respect to the risk to themselves. Training should also be provided to prison staff on the effects of an OLR on a prisoner and their mental health. Sheriff Di Emidio also found that an "urgent case conference" review of a transgender prisoner 's place in a specific facility should be carried out and actioned upon so that any potential transfer can happen "promptly". He also recommended that "urgent high-level" reviews be carried out if a transgender prisoner or a prisoner with an OLR has been in isolation for more than 30 days for their safety. Prisons should also be forced to disclose when a prisoner has been "held in segregation without legal warrant" because legal timeframes haven't been met as soon as possible and "provide an explanation for the failure to apply within the correct timescale". It was recommended that any request by a prison psychologist for the appointment of a personal officer to a transgender prisoner or a prisoner with an OLR must be actioned within seven days. A record should also be kept of non-attendance by NHS staff at case conferences so that an obligation that a suitably experienced member of NHS staff must attend the next conference if two consecutive absences are recorded. If mental health assessments are necessary when a transgender prisoner or a prisoner with an OLR arrives at prison, Sheriff Di Emidio recommended that this should take place within seven days. Riley was recalled to the jail in 2018 after allegedly breaching the terms of her licence - following "an issue related to alcohol, drugs , and threatening a male" - while she had been living in the community as a woman in supported accommodation in Perth for only three months. Aged 18 and then known as Aiden Riley in 2008, she had been made subject to the OLR and jailed for almost three years at the High Court in Edinburgh for stabbing a man in the back in Aberfeldy . After her recall, she had been held for more than nine weeks in the segregation unit because moves to relocate her to an all-female establishment were "dragging on". Just hours after being handed a letter saying her bid to be released to a female prison had been refused, Riley took her own life . Following the publication of the determination, Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for COPFS, said: “The sheriff’s determination is detailed and notes recommendations in relation to reasonable precautions that could have been taken to avoid Sarah’s death and identified learning to help avoid such incidents happening to prisoners with complex needs in the future. “The FAI followed a thorough and comprehensive investigation by the Procurator Fiscal who ensured that the full facts and circumstances of Sarah’s death were presented in evidence. “My thoughts remain with Sarah’s loved ones at this difficult time.”
