The mother of a young man who took his own life in Western Australia's dilapidated Hakea prison says he was in lockdown for weeks without proper monitoring despite the fact he had been self-harming in the lead up to his death.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of a person who has died.
Ricky Lee Cound died on Friday in Hakea prison.
His sister Santanna Cound remembered her brother as a family man who loved his parents and many siblings.
"Anyone that knew Ricky knew any room he walked in he would light it up," Santana Cound said.
"He was the life of the party, there was something about him. He was special.
Questions over mental health care
Mr Cound is believed to have been involved in a riot at Acacia prison on February 27, which caused major infrastructure damage to an area known as the 'Kilo block'.
During the riot, prisoners lit fires and climbed onto the roof. It took authorities hours to bring the situation under control.
His mother believes she saw him in media footage taken from a helicopter on the roof of a building.
Prison authorities placed parts of the prison into lockdown following the disturbance.
Inmates who were suspected of taking part in the riot were not permitted to leave their cells for an entire week.
Mr Cound's girlfriend, Bethany McShane, said he was transferred to Hakea from Acacia prison a week following a riot on February 27.
From hard lockdown to punishment unit in Hakea
After Mr Cound arrived at Hakea, Ms McShane said he was placed into lockdown for at least two weeks "down the back".
The ABC believes Mr Cound was held in Unit 1 – otherwise known as the Management Unit or "punishment unit" — after his transfer.
The management unit is divided into four wings, which emanate from a central control room.
Its design makes ongoing monitoring of occupants difficult.
The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has repeatedly condemned the management unit at Hakea as "outdated" and not fit for purpose.
Following an inspection in 2016, it called for the construction of an entirely new purpose-built unit.
When it was inspected again in 2019, it noted while this had been supported "in principle" by the department, nothing had been done and the situation "had only worsened".
There are no showers in the cells and some "lack any environmental enrichment, human connection or other amenities despite these being required by official departmental policies."
"While placement in such a cell may incapacitate a person from self-harming, it is most unlikely to assist treatment of the anxiety and distress that underlies the behaviour," the report said.
Ms McShane said her partner had been self-harming in Acacia and this continued in Hakea.
Noongar advocate Mervyn Eades, whose Ngaala Marla organisation provides crisis support to current and former prisoners, said Mr Cound should have been on 24/7 watch in crisis care.
"This young man was self harming in Acacia before they sent him to Hakea prison," Mr Eades said.
"He would have been under the medical watch. Why he came from the medical watch into punishment we do not know.
COVID diagnosis sparks yet another stint of isolation
Ms McShane said Mr Counds was released into the general population after two weeks, but then was placed into isolation when he contracted COVID.
"When they took him out from down the back, he was really happy," she said.
"And then on Thursday (last week) I didn't hear from him because that's when they moved him."
He took his life on Friday.
Mr Cound's mother, Laura Dorothy Cound, said her son was not given the right kind of support for his mental health.
She said she spoke to someone with the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) on March 12, who promised someone would check in on her son but this never eventuated.
The AVS is run by the department and aims to provide culturally appropriate support as part of a multidisciplinary team to prevent instances of suicide and self-harm amongst Aboriginal people.
Laura Cound says her son had still not received a visit before he took his life just under two weeks later.
She said she had also called the front desk on March 12 to ask for information about her son, because she had been made aware he was struggling.
She said no one returned her call.
"I don't know why the superintendent didn't hear my calls for help for my son. I called them up."
"All them boys are crying for help."
Laura Cound does not believe her son received first aid quickly enough.
She says she has not received any formal report on his death from the Department of Justice and has not been allowed to see his body.
She wants answers about how he died.
The family believe the guards ignored his calls for help – pressing an intercom button in the cell, for more than an hour, before "everything went silent".
They also think he asked to be transferred to the mental health crisis care unit but this request was ignored.
His mother says this information has come from other inmates in the unit being held near Mr Cound.
The ABC has been unable to independently verify these statements.
Because he died in custody, Mr Cound's death will be investigated at a coronial inquest, but in Western Australia this can mean years before it is heard.
Department says death in hands of coroner
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that because the matter was now before the coroner, it could not comment on the circumstances of Mr Cound's death.
In a statement on Saturday, the department said Mr Cound was found in his cell around 7:20pm on Friday night.
Prison officers and medical staff at the remand facility provided first aid and attempted to resuscitate the man, the statement said.
Paramedics arrived at the prison and continued first aid during his ambulance transfer to Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Preliminary reports indicate there were no suspicious circumstances.
In accordance with all deaths in custody, the WA Police Force will investigate and prepare a report for the state coroner.
