Three NSW prisoners with mental illness died alone in isolation cells
Three NSW prisoners with schizophrenia died in monitored isolation cells between 2021 and 2022, with experts questioning whether isolation itself was harmful.
Daniel Turnbull spent more than 50 hours alone in a concrete cell in a monitored isolation unit. On his third day, he drank about 237 cups of water due to polydipsia, a life-threatening mental health condition, then collapsed and died.
Daniel was one of three inmates with schizophrenia to die from polydipsia: Trevor Samuel in 2021 and Tammy Shipley in 2022. Prisons use isolation cells to prevent suicide and self-harm, but experts say sensory deprivation worsens mental illness.
Forensic psychiatrists told inquests that isolation may have triggered the prisoners' polydipsia. Guards monitoring the cells have little to no mental health training.
- 237 cups on final day
- Water consumed
- Three prisoners with schizophrenia
- Deaths from polydipsia
- More than 50 hours before collapse
- Time in isolation
- Little to no mental health training
- Guard training
Why it mattersIsolation cells are meant to protect vulnerable inmates but may be causing harm. The pattern raises questions about whether current prisoner mental health practices are safe.
AustraliaNSW prisons continue using isolation cells for at-risk inmates. Families and mental health experts are pushing for reform in how the state cares for prisoners with serious mental illness in custody.
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