A man has died by suicide after being bullied at Christchurch Men’s Prison - and the coroner says the issue was mismanaged by Corrections.
Alexander John Nicholls-Braddock, 29, was found dead in his cell at Christchurch Men’s Prison (CMP) on March 19, 2021, five weeks after arriving for his first stint behind bars.
Coroner Allie Cunninghame recommended bullying be "proactively" managed in prisons and said greater training for custodial staff needed to occur.
CMP director Joanne Harrex acknowledged Corrections "had not done the best job it could for Alex".
The coronial inquiry, which was held more than a year ago, heard Nicholls-Braddock had been diagnosed with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder, and had struggled with alcohol and substance-abuse issues since his teens.
Nicholls-Braddock had two stints in rehabilitation facilities between 2010 and 2011 and later moved to Haast, where he was known as "Cowboy", and revelled in an outdoor lifestyle.
By 2013, though, Nicholls-Braddock had racked up two drink-driving convictions and had been referred to mental health services.
Tragically, in 2016, his father, Russell Braddock, died in an avalanche in France, which led to an exacerbation of Nicholls-Braddock’s alcohol issues.
Four years later, the man crashed his car on the way to whitebaiting and was charged with his sixth drink-driving offence as well as dangerous driving.
Family said Nicholls-Braddock’s drinking accelerated in the aftermath and, in December 2020, he was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting police at Franz Josef.
In February the following year, he appeared before the Greymouth District Court, where he was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment, with the possibility of a home detention conversion if residential rehabilitation could be organised.
When triaged by the health team at prison, Nicholls-Braddock reported regularly consuming 40 units of alcohol a day and 10 cigarettes, and said he was "a wee bit scared" of the impending detox.
After a few days locked up in the jail’s intervention and support unit, he said his anxiety was "through the roof".
A doctor found he had not been given his prescribed antidepressant, which was subsequently restarted.
Nicholls-Braddock’s problems were compounded when he was moved to a new unit at CMP and a Corrections officer told the inquest he noticed him socialising with the wing’s "heavy hitters", which he described as a "red flag".
Four days before his death, officers found a tattooing needle, ink and tobacco in Nicholls-Braddock’s cell, which resulted in a misconduct charge.
In desperate phone calls to family, Nicholls-Braddock suggested the items were not his and said he had been repeatedly assaulted.
He said someone had confronted him with a "shiv" (improvised bladed weapon), his watch had been stolen and he was "not hanging around".
On March 19, Nicholls-Braddock did not appear for evening muster and emergency services pronounced him dead in his cell half an hour later.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Erik Monasterio said if correct processes had been followed when the man entered the prison, details of his depression, anxiety and suicidal preoccupations would likely have come to light.
Coroner Cunninghame noted Nicholls-Braddock met the criteria for a referral for forensic assessment, but none was made.
Had that happened, a more accurate picture of his risk would have emerged, she concluded.
Among her recommendations, the coroner also advised processes for first-time prisoners to have contact with family be improved.
It was the bullying that stood out to Nicholls-Braddock’s family as the primary factor and a Corrections officer accepted during the inquiry he had not followed best practice and should have made note of his concerns.
"It is a tragedy that he was overcome by his ADHD and addiction, and that he ended up in prison, which everyone recognised was an unsuitable place for him," the coroner said.
