Stanley Inman Jr: Coronial inquiry into Aboriginal teenager who took own life in Acacia Prison begins

An Acacia Prison guard has broken down in court while reliving the devastating moment he discovered Aboriginal man Stanley Jon Inman in a critical condition in a locked storage room. Speaking through tears in the WA Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, custodial officer Nicholas Manifis described the Noongar and Wirlomin man as an “awesome painter” who also loved basketball and was always around friends. But just days before the 19-year-old’s death, he noticed a dramatic shift in Stanley Jr’s demeanour when he got called to his supervisor’s office to escort the inmate to the medical unit on July 8, 2020. “I saw Stanley just slumped in his chair, his demeanour was down, his mood was down,” Mr Manifis said on day one of a Coronial Inquiry into the teen’s death. “I just asked him straight up what was going on.” As they made their way to the medical unit, passing other prisoners on their way, Stanley remained closed off. But once alone, he started tearing up. “I could tell straight away that something was wrong,” Mr Manifis said. When he asked Stanley again what was going on, the teen admitted he was not coping with the recent death of his brother. Once they arrived at the medical unit, where there were other prisoners, Mr Manifis said he was shocked by Stanley’s sudden and dramatic return to his “normal … bubbly self”. “I told him, ‘you can talk to me’, and he said, ‘no I’m all good’,” he said. “When they’re around other prisoners they are completely different.” While at the medical unit, Stanley showed staff several fresh cuts to his chest, which he had been self-inflicting for close to a week, and stated he wanted to kill himself. He was placed on high “ARMS” — the At-Risk Management System, requiring hourly observation and was placed in the Detention unit. His confession came in the wake of dozens of phone calls he made to his mother Connie Moses-Penny and his partner, during which he made references to killing and harming himself, and after one of which he cut himself. The next time Mr Manifis saw Stanley was three days later on July 11, 2020, while the teen was playing a video game with a friend in his cell. In the two days prior the teen had been placed on low “ARMS” because of his strong family support and his willingness to seek help — meaning he only required four-hourly observations. About 11.20am Stanley wasn’t standing outside his cell for the midday prison count, and after a quick search, Mr Manifis saw the door to a nearby storeroom was closed. “I knew something was wrong, I just had a gut feeling,” he said, explaining that the door to that room was usually left propped open and accessible to staff and prisoners. “I ran into the storeroom, I called a code, ‘Code red! Code red! “My training kicked in straight away.” Mr Manifis said it was he and three prisoners who found Stanley unconscious, and that the trio helped him in the initial moments before other officers arrived. Despite extensive CPR and medical treatment, Stanley died in hospital two days later on July 13, 2020. Speaking through tears, Mr Manifis then directly addressed Stanley’s loved ones, seated in the back of the courtroom. “I’m sorry for your loss, I really am, you know I am,” he said. Fellow prison officer Kate Moore told the inquest in the years since Stanley’s death, the jail’s storeroom doors “always get locked now” and were only accessible by inmates in the presence of a guard. Acacia Prison Psychologist Michael Waine said since Stanley’s death, phone records were also more accessible. “Even knowing the volume of calls he was trying to make (to his loved ones in the lead-up to his death) … would absolutely have … influenced a consideration of risk,” he told the inquest. Outside court, Stanley’s sister Jacinta Miller said if her brother’s phone calls had been monitored, he would have been put at a higher ARMS for longer. “It’s shattering,” she said. Stanley’s other sister Tianna Austin said mental health care in the prison system was underfunded, under resourced and culturally unsafe. “This results in our mob slipping through the cracks, just like our Stanley,” she said. National Justice Project chief executive George Newhouse said the teen did not receive the mental health care he needed while at Acacia Prison. “There is a desperate need for meaningful mental health care for all prisoners … in particular for First Nations prisoners,” he said, adding that the Aboriginal Medical Service would provide a culturally safe health system which would be trusted by prisoners. “At the moment they aren’t receiving that.” Stanley’s mother Connie remembered her son as a smiling, loving, kind, humble, cheeky person. Less than 30 days before Stanley’s death, when he arrived at Acacia, a doctor completed an intake assessment — including the preparation of several medications and prescriptions, during which it was noted there were “no significant matters ... concerning his mental health”. That assessment came months after Stanley tried to take his own life prior to his arrest for burglary and stealing offences. The inquest continues. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyondblue 1300 22 4636 13YARN 13 92 76 Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905