Former prison worker guilty of misconduct after prisoner’s death

A former prison worker who fabricated the number of welfare checks he carried out on an inmate who took his own life has been convicted of misconduct, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Graham Evans, 66, who was on overnight duty at HMP Hewell in Worcestershire in June 2018, was required to check on “vulnerable” prisoner Mesut Olgun four times every hour.

Prison support worker Evans recorded carrying out 33 checks, but CCTV footage later showed he carried out only 15, leaving “high-risk” Mr Olgun unsupervised for significant periods of time.

Mr Olgun, 30, from Bristol, was arrested after a violent struggle in Bromyard, Herefordshire, in which he stabbed a police officer and his dog before harming himself.

Evans, of King’s Heath, Birmingham, was found guilty of misconduct in public office at Worcester Crown Court on Friday. He will be sentenced in January next year.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division, said it was “Evans’ responsibility to carry out all the required welfare checks on Mr Olgun”.

“He both failed to carry out the number of required checks and fabricated the records,” she said.

“The jury have concluded today that his actions amount to serious misconduct.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mesut Olgun.”

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