A former inmate who has now turned his life around has described scandal-hit Polmont as the worst jail in Scotland.
He’s spoken out after an investigation was launched into how Jack McKenzie, 20, was found dead in his cell at the prison in September.
The 36-year-old father of three, from Ayrshire, who asked not to be named, has been in most jails in Scotland – but says the 10 months spent at Polmont between 2004 and 2005 was the most traumatic.
Jack, who was on remand, is the fifth person to die by suicide at Polmont, near Falkirk, in the last four years.
The ex-con who spoke to the Sunday Mail said too many young people are stuck there awaiting trial and should not be in prison.
He added: “What happened to Jack happens far too often and has happened for far too long. In fact, I am surprised it doesn’t happen more often.
“I was in Polmont as a young man and it was the most violent, degrading and mentally challenging environment I’ve ever experienced – and that includes the adult prisons I have been in since.”
The former prisoner was sent to Polmont for assault and possession of an offensive weapon. He also spent time on remand for charges that were later dropped.
He said: “I was there when Polmont was being modernised from an old Victorian jail but it’s clear that nothing has changed. It was a violent institution with violent inmates. If you think that is going to reform or help anyone, you are massively mistaken.
“You had boys coming from the worst of backgrounds, who never had a chance in life, who just left the care system. Some of them were already heroin addicts.”
Jack’s dad John passed away in 2002, aged 31, when he was a toddler and his mum Angela, 36, died in 2009. He was then looked after by his gran until she died in 2012 and then an aunt.
The former inmate, who runs a marketing firm, added: “I don’t think anyone under 18 should be in prison, unless for exceptional circumstances.”
He also did time at Saughton in Edinburgh, Kilmarnock, Low Moss in Bishopbriggs and Greenock. Towards the end of his Polmont sentence, he was moved to Barlinnie in Glasgow, which he said was an improvement.
Since 2017, Katie Allan, William Lindsay, Robert Wagstaff and Liam Kerr have taken their lives in Polmont, which houses young offenders between the ages of 16 and 21.
Prisons expert Jim Watson says Polmont now has more than half the number of inmates than it did in 2004. He added that should mean less pressure and more time for staff to work with young people.
But he said a recent report on the jail highlighted a rise in the use of legal highs and found too many prisoners were stuck in their cells each day with limited access to exercise. It also expressed concerns about the length of time prisoners spent on remand.
Last week the Crown Office confirmed an investigation was under way into Jack’s death on September 3. A Fatal Accident Inquiry will also be held.
Jack was due to stand trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court on charges of causing a disturbance in London Road and brandishing weapons.
He had been arrested in January on another unrelated charge and returned to Polmont, having been freed in December.
Earlier this month Katie Allan’s mum Linda launched a blistering attack on the jail’s ex-boss Brenda Stewart and said Katie would be alive had the governor done her job properly.
The Scottish Prison Service said conditions had improved at Polmont since 2005. A spokesman added: “We’ve seen a dramatic reduction in young people in custody. That has allowed us to devote more time and energy to address the needs of those who remain.”
