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UK: Black prisoner dies in bodybelt

01 November 1995

A black prisoner, Dennis Stevens, died in Dartmoor jail after being forced to spend 24 hours in a bodybelt that has been banned by the police. Stevens was found dead in the punishment block on October 18. A Prison Office spokeswoman initially suggested that Stevens had committed suicide, but later her statement was amended to say that the actual cause of his death was unconfirmed. His widow alleged that his face showed signs of recent violent injury, including a large dent in one side of his head. The Prison Office spokeswoman also stated that Stevens had been placed in the bodybelt after committing assaults on staff. It was, she said, an exceptional measure that had been approved by the Prison Governor and overseen by a doctor. However, evidence suggests that Stevens was a model prisoner, who was near the end of his sentence; he had been granted special privileges because of good behaviour. The claim that bodybelts are only used in prison in exceptional cases is also open to question. A report published by the Howard League for Penal Reform, in November, reported 96 incidents when bodybelts were used in 1994. The report questions whether they are only used as a measure of "last resort" and accuses the prison authorities of using them on a routine basis. Police forces banned the use of the restraints in 1993 following the death of Joy Gardiner. "Use of Mechanical restraints by prisons", Howard League 1995; Observer 29.10.95; Voice 31.10.95.