Hundreds of protesters held a candlelit vigil outside Holloway prison on the day Sarah Reed, the prisoner on remand who died in her cell last month, was buried in a private family ceremony.
People braved the 30mph winds outside the jail, trying to keep candles lit as they listened to speakers from a number of rights groups describe what is known of the of Reed’s case and the issues behind it.
Reed, who suffered from mental health problems, was transferred from bail and care under a community health team into prison last October . She had told her family that she fought back against a sexual assault, while under section in a mental health unit, only to find herself facing a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Her case was ongoing when she was found unresponsive in her cell at Holloway prison on 11 January.
Stephanie Lightfoot-Bennett, of the United Friends and Family Campaign stood with tears her eyes as protesters gathered for the vigil.
“We need to come out and we need to make a noise and we need to show support. Everybody says black lives matter; I’ve always said death has no colour when it comes to the state,” she said.
Lightfoot-Bennett’s twin brother, Leon Patterson, was found dead in a cell in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in 1992. She added: “The state is killing us one by one. There has been 1,518 deaths in police custody and zero convictions since 1990 and that shows you that something is wrong. The [Crown Prosecution Service] is a joke, the [Independent Police Complaints Commission] is not fit for purpose.
“When there is a death in custody, if it was me or you who killed somebody they would consider that a realistic prospect of conviction.”
Earlier in the day, two dappled grey horses, with white feathered headdresses, pulled a white carriage hearse to the funeral service at the Church of God of Prophecy in Nunhead, south London. About 50 mourners paid their respects to Reed, among them her parents, siblings and teenage daughter.
The service was led by Pastor Sean Roye, Sarah Reed’s cousin, and her brother Anthony Reed gave a eulogy. Friends and family gathered in the bitter wind outside the church after the service, waiting for the carriage, laden with bouquets, to be drawn away.
At the vigil outside Holloway prison on Monday night, Patricia Lamour, of Islington-based campaign group Blacksox, led speeches. She said: “We are here because the Reed family could have been our family. We are here because Sarah Reed could have been our sister or our daughter.
“It’s not right what’s happened and we are here to demand that truth and justice is found in the case of Sarah Reed.”
Wail Qasim, an activist with Defend the Right to Protest, said: “30% of women who are in prisons have been previously admitted to psychiatric units. Sarah Reed’s case is just the most brutal instance of what happens when people who need psychiatric are put in prisons that are not there to help people, they are there to punish people.
“In Sarah’s case she should never have been remanded, she should have been sent to a secure hospital. But the fact that the prison system grinds so slowly in ensuring people receive proper care shows they are not institutions fit for a civilised society.”
• This article was amended on 17 February 2016. An earlier version said that Sarah Reed was transferred from a secure mental health unit at the Maudsley Hospital to Holloway Prison last October. This has been corrected.
