Scots transgender prisoner found dead in cell hours after move to female jail refused
dailyrecord.co.uktransgender lifer was found to have taken her own life in her cell in Scotland's oldest operational jail just hours after being handed a letter saying her bid to be released to a female prison had been refused, a fatal accident inquiry heard.Sarah Riley - the only person identifying as female among more than 660 men in Perth Prison - had been held for more than nine weeks in the segregation unit because moves to relocate her to an all-female establishment were "dragging on", the probe at Falkirk Sheriff Court was told.Sarah, 29, who was subject to an order for lifelong restriction (OLR), was recalled to the jail after allegedly breaching the terms of her licence while she had been living in the community as a woman, in supported accommodation in Perth city, for only three months.The inquiry was told this followed "an issue related to alcohol, drugs, and threatening a male".She had been made subject to the OLR at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2008, with a minimum prison term of two years and eight months, for knifing a man in the back in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, when was she still just 18 and then known as Aiden.She was re-arrested on November 6th 2018 and returned to HMP Perth - opened in 1812 to hold French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars - and placed in the Segregation and Reintegration Unit (SRU), initially for 72 hours.The inquiry was told this was to allow investigations into "potential risks to her safety" in being held in mainstream halls, and also "to maintain good order in the establishment".Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join.
