bloodrayne
03-20-2006, 07:38 PM
Prison Errors In 'Vampire' Death
Scotland - The Scottish Prison Service has been heavily criticised by a sheriff for its treatment of a convicted killer who hanged himself in his cell at Shotts.
Sheriff Vincent Smith said it had failed to carry out an anti-suicide strategy even though Allan Menzies, 23, had a history of self-harm.
Obsessed with vampires, he brutally murdered his friend before eating part of his skull and drinking his blood.
Prison officials are considering the fatal accident inquiry findings.
Menzies, from Fauldhouse in West Lothian, hanged himself in his cell in the segregation unit of Shotts Prison in November 2004, a year after he was convicted.
The inquiry in Hamilton heard there was evidence that Menzies had tried to harm himself in the past; that he was uncommunicative and withdrawn.
But the Scottish Prison Service's Suicide Risk Management Strategy had not been implemented and he was not under surveillance even though he was in a cell for 23 hours a day.
Sheriff Smith's determination also criticises the prison authorities for failing to obtain his medical records or asking his family about the state of his mental health.
Menzies, from Fauldhouse, West Lothian, claimed he had been visited by the female vampire Akasha, a character from the film Queen of the Damned.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: "We have received the determination and are considering the issues highlighted."
Scotland - The Scottish Prison Service has been heavily criticised by a sheriff for its treatment of a convicted killer who hanged himself in his cell at Shotts.
Sheriff Vincent Smith said it had failed to carry out an anti-suicide strategy even though Allan Menzies, 23, had a history of self-harm.
Obsessed with vampires, he brutally murdered his friend before eating part of his skull and drinking his blood.
Prison officials are considering the fatal accident inquiry findings.
Menzies, from Fauldhouse in West Lothian, hanged himself in his cell in the segregation unit of Shotts Prison in November 2004, a year after he was convicted.
The inquiry in Hamilton heard there was evidence that Menzies had tried to harm himself in the past; that he was uncommunicative and withdrawn.
But the Scottish Prison Service's Suicide Risk Management Strategy had not been implemented and he was not under surveillance even though he was in a cell for 23 hours a day.
Sheriff Smith's determination also criticises the prison authorities for failing to obtain his medical records or asking his family about the state of his mental health.
Menzies, from Fauldhouse, West Lothian, claimed he had been visited by the female vampire Akasha, a character from the film Queen of the Damned.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: "We have received the determination and are considering the issues highlighted."