Inquest jury probes death of inmate, 50, found unresponsive in his cell at Kirkham Prison
Prisoner was on prescribed medication for epilepsy
An inmate of Kirkham Prison died in hospital shortly after being found unresponsive in his cell, an inquest heard.
Steve Porter, 50, had been transferred to Kirkham on January 32, 2025 after being in the prison system since the previous year.
He was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell by prison staff on the morning of February 4 and died in Blackpool Victoria Hospital several hours later.
Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd carried out a post mortem and ruled Mr Porter’s cause of death to be spice toxicity.
Spice (also often known as K2, Black Mamba, or fake weed) is a term for a family of laboratory-made designer drugs which mimic the effects of natural cannabis.
It consists of various synthetic chemicals sprayed onto plant matter or paper, making it highly unpredictable and significantly more potent than real marijuana.
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The inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard Mr Porter was on prescribed medication for epilepsy, a condition he had been left with after undergoing an operation in 2007 to remove a congenital abnormal blood vessel from the front his brain.
Dr Shepherd said the levels of the epilepsy medication in Mr Porter’s system were in line with the prescribed use and there were no external signs of a seizure or of a natural disease which could have caused his death.
The post mortem showed up two small superficial lacerations around Mr Porter’s left eyebrow which appeared to have been caused by him hitting something during a fall to the floor, but with no great force.
Dr Shepherd said that very occasionally, epilepsy can be a cause of death but he felt in this case he could rule that out.
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After taking into account a toxicity test, he felt the cause of death was due to the spice in his system.
Dr Shepherd described the designer drug as “universally toxic”, being able to affect almost every system in the body, although it was not possible to be certain exactly how it affected Mr Porter.
The inquest, scheduled to last until Friday, is being heard by a jury of six women and five men.
Inquests which by law require 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.
(Proceeding)