A young man who died in Cloverhill Prison after concealing tablets inside his body came “under pressure” from other prisoners to hide contraband, an inquest heard on Tuesday.
Stephen Watson (20), who was on remand for allegedly stealing a phone, was found dead in a cell on April 27th, 2021.
He had been placed in a close supervision cell, amid concerns for his safety, the night before.
Officers checked him every 15 minutes throughout the night. They believed he was sleeping and didn’t notice anything unusual, the inquest heard.
However, shortly after 8.30am the next day, he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead.
Pathologist Heidi Okkers told the inquest traces of heroin were found in Mr Watson’s system. Ms Okkers said she believed his death was linked to heroin toxicity, but he was “not known” to use the drug.
During the postmortem a bag of tablets was found in Mr Watson’s rectum, Ms Okkers said.
Sergeant Bernard Eustace said these tablets were sent to be analysed but he had not yet received the results. Plastic wrappers were also found in Mr Watson’s cell but these were not tested, the inquest heard.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane told the jury heroin may have entered Mr Watson’s system via the tablets or via the wrappers if he had ingested their contents. However, without the test results, this could not be confirmed.
[ Prison service embarks on €400m building project to ease overcrowdingOpens in new window ]
The jury delivered a verdict of death by misadventure.
Mr Watson was sent to Cloverhill on April 7th, 2021, and was facing a charge of stealing a phone. He was due to be released the following month.
Laura Watson said her son’s death was “devastating” and she hopes no other family will ever “go through the same grief”.
Stephen Watson, who died in Cloverhill Prison, with his mother Laura shortly before his death. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins, Dublin
Ms Watson said it was unfortunate the results of the analysis of the tablets were not available as that would have “answered a lot of questions”.
The inquest heard that, in the days leading up to his death, Mr Watson was observed on a number of occasions trying to retrieve contraband from the netting that covers the prison’s exercise yard.
Prison officer Derek Donnelly said, on April 26th, Mr Watson admitted he had concealed drugs and a phone. Mr Watson handed over a bag of cannabis. He was then searched by officers and set off a metal detector.
Mr Watson went into a toilet with the intention of removing the mobile phone from his body. Officer Donnelly said he heard what sounded like something metal being flushed down the toilet.
Mr Watson seemed “fine” and was “co-operative”, Mr Donnelly said. Officers took him “at his word” that all the contraband was gone.
Mr Watson was then placed in the close supervision cell so he could be monitored.
Assistant chief officer Shaun Gallery told the inquest “someone was making” Mr Watson get the contraband and, if he went back to the general prison population without it, it could be “very dangerous”.
Mr Gallery said Mr Watson became “emotional” when he told him he was “under pressure” to get the contraband.
“He wanted to tell me more, but he couldn’t,” Mr Gallery said. “He said: ‘This is not going to happen again.’ He said, ‘I’ll talk to you tomorrow about it.’”
A report published by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons in 2024 into Mr Watson’s death found he may have been intimidated by two “high-profile” prisoners.
Stephen Ryan Watson, from Blanchardstown, who was found dead in his cell in Cloverhill Prison. Photograph: Facebook
Governor of Cloverhill, Kevin O’Connell, said a number of changes had been introduced at the prison since Mr Watson’s death.
More robust netting is being installed in the exercise yard to prevent contraband from being thrown in. The prison also plans to install technology in the close supervision cells so prisoners can be better monitored.
Since January 2025, Governor O’Connell said, it has been national policy that a healthcare assessment is conducted on any prisoner suspected of ingesting drugs.