Suicide suspected in death of inmate
Man found in cell in Shirley prison
A Worcester man who was serving a sentence of life in prison without parole for a notorious murder in that city died yesterday, apparently the second suicide in the state prison system in as many weeks.
Patrick O’Brian, a 34-year-old inmate at the medium-security prison in Shirley, was found unresponsive with a ligature around his neck about 11 a.m., said Diane Wiffin, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction. He was pronounced dead less than an hour later at Leominster Hospital, she said.
Wiffin said the death remains under investigation, but that the department followed its emergency response protocol.
The Middlesex district attorney’s office, which investigates any unattended death, was notified.
Wiffin would not say whether O’Brian had any history of attempted suicide or mental illness, citing the privacy of medical information.
The apparent suicide was the fourth in the state prison system this year and the second in a week, raising concern among inmate advocate groups that cuts in funding for mental health programs may be affecting inmates’ well-being.
“Two suicides in two weeks is compounding the tragedy,’’ said Leslie Walker, executive director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services. “I’m very concerned that the overcrowding and cutbacks in mental health services is creating additional stresses and resulting in preventable deaths.’’
Before recent cuts in state funding, the Department of Correction had focused on bettering its mental health programs after 15 suicides from 2005 to 2007. The number spurred the Disability Law Center to sue the Department of Correction. That suit is pending.
The department reported no suicides last year.
Wiffin would not say whether the department is examining its mental health programs, only saying that the death remains under investigation.
O’Brian, who had a history of drug abuse and mental illness, according to court records, was convicted in the May 2000 murder and attempted robbery of a manager at Il Palazzo restaurant in Worcester. According to court records, a day after a drug binge he left his home at 3 a.m. and attempted to rob the restaurant, shooting the manager in the head in the process.
After the robbery, he returned home and took all of his mother’s medication in an apparent attempt to kill himself, according to court records.