THE inquest into the death of the first prisoner at HMP Berwyn to die will be held this week.
The five-day hearing, which begins in Ruthin on Tuesday, will be held before a jury .
Luke Morris Jones, 22, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, died in the Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, on March 31 last year, having been taken there from the £212m prison where he had been found unresponsive.
Jones was one month away from finishing a four-year sentence for robbery at Llanrwst when he died.
Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers gave a provisional cause of death as cardiac event likely to have linked to the use of the drug Spice, a synthetic form of cannabis.
At a pre-hearing earlier this year John Gittins, coroner for North Wales East and Central, said the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) who investigated the incident considered the medical care and response at the time Jones collapsed was “appropriate”.
His father Dave has claimed that he became addicted to Spice while in prison and got into debt with dealers.
It is understood he was attacked a few times and was suffering mental problems.
He had been on 24-hour watch but for some reason that was stopped.
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