The prison boss has defended a decision to house three inmates together in a room at Mount Carmel Hospital, hours after one of the patients was charged with murdering another while they shared a room.

In an interview with Times of Malta, the Correctional Services Agency CEO Chris Siegersma said it was discriminatory to suggest that inmates with mental health problems should be locked up and isolated, since it would exacerbate their condition further.

Siegersma was reacting hours after a 22-year-old inmate was charged with murdering his roommate at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel Hospital in July.

Jesmond Gatt, 54, was found unconscious in a pool of blood on the floor of the room he shared with two other inmates and died from his injuries days later.

On Tuesday, police told the court that Vuk Milic, a Serbian national, confessed to Gatt’s murder when he was questioned in the past days. The man pleaded not guilty in court. The death raised concerns over how sensible it is to allow inmates with mental health problems to share a room.

But Siegersma defended the policy: “Nowhere in the world is someone with a mental health problem secluded alone in a room – not in prison and not in mental health hospitals. God forbid, it’s discriminatory.”

He went on: “Just recently, when there were rumours of renowned people dying by suicide, people took to social media encouraging their friends to reach out and go for coffee if they’re mentally struggling. We didn’t isolate them then, we didn’t tell them to stay away from us in case they were planning to kill us. So why are we suddenly discriminating against them?” 

Concerns over shared rooms

The fact that a person has mental health problems does not necessarily mean they are violent, he said, and the same applies to inmates. Being an inmate with mental health problems does not make you a violent inmate.

“The majority, in fact, aren’t,” he said.

“We don’t discriminate with people who live with diabetes or heart disease, for instance. We don’t segregate them, just like we don’t isolate inmates with those same physical conditions.”

Siegersma was pressed on the fact that Mount Carmel inmates had a brush with the law and might, therefore, be more prone to violence.

He agreed inmates are more likely to be anti-social or prone to argue violently, but said mental health is something else.

“A depressed inmate in prison and a depressed person at home share the same risks. There is no difference between the two. If they are admitted to Mount Carmel, they will both be given the same treatment,” he said.

“Inmates are at a higher risk of being depressed because they’re locked in prison, yes, but that doesn’t mean they’re more likely to go around killing people.

“And that is why I wanted to come here, because I’m worried this story will affect people out there who live with mental health problems. Until recently we were all extending the helping hand to these people and suddenly we’re perceiving them as a threat, thinking we’d better be careful, as they might kill us.”

‘Current policies adequate’

Siegersma also defended the current procedures in place at the forensic unit, saying they align with best practices. 

“If the court concludes this was no accident but was, indeed, a murder, then we will open an investigation to understand whether our professionals acted according to the established procedures,” he said.

“But that doesn’t mean we’ll change the policies to the extreme of locking everyone up in seclusion. The current procedures are adequate.”

Segregating all inmates with mental health issues is not only harmful – it is also impossible, he added.

“I don’t think you really understand how many inmates have mental health problems. Worldwide, the figure is almost 80 per cent. If I had to segregate 80 per cent of the 700 inmates we have right now, we would need to turn Gozo into a whole prison,” he said.

“And forget the space – it’s harmful. If you are depressed, why should you be segregated? Why shouldn’t you be in a room with someone to help you take your mind off it?”

‘Inmates shouldn’t be secluded’

There are instances when an inmate must be secluded, but only if they warn or clearly show they intend to hurt themselves or someone else. In that case, they are secluded in a room with CCTV surveillance.

“But unless we have those reasonable suspicions, we cannot and shouldn’t segregate them,” he said.

“This case was being followed by our professionals, all of whom would have taken action had they suspected such a thing was likely to happen.”

In the Jesmond Gatt case (the murder victim), he defended his initial explanation in July when he told the media he was informed the victim slipped and hit his head.

“When the case first happened, the preliminary information I was given was that the man was found in a pool of blood with a wound in his head,” he said.

“That’s what the inmates who were sharing the room told us – that he had fallen and hit his head.”

An ongoing magisterial inquiry into the case shows the prison authorities did not shove the case under the carpet, even though it initially seemed like an accident, he said.

Everything changed Sunday, he said, when a CSA professional informed him that the inmate who is being accused of the murder provided new information which was relayed to the police immediately.

“There was an admission, that’s all I can say,” he said.

“We informed the police, they came to prison, interrogated him, took him to the depot and he was charged in court today. We didn’t try to hide the case.”