Jury inquest to probe death of 53-year-old inmate found in his cell at Kirkham Prison

A jury inquest begins at Blackpool Town Hall on Monday, September 20 into the death of a prisoner found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Kirkham.

The body of Jason Stevens, 53, was discovered at the prison in Freckleton Road in October 2024.

Blackpool and Fylde assistant coroner Andrew Cousins confirmed at an earlier pre-inquest review hearing that the inquest was likely to take at least three days and that the verdict would be decided by a jury, empanelled for five days.

Inquests requiring a jury include those where the coroner has reason to suspect that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death in custody or state detention or the death resulted from an act or omission of a police officer or member of a service police force in the purported execution of their duty.

Mr Stevens’ death will be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Service Ombudsman, who lists the investigation status as pending inquest outcome.