LOST DAUGHTER: Lori Stephens with daughter Jessica on her wedding day. In court, Jessica explained that her mental health deteriorated after breaking up in 2020. Photo: Privat / Privat
Jessica Ann Stephens (31) took her own life in front of several witnesses in Bredtveit prison. The parents believe that the notifications were not taken seriously.
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Jessica Ann Stephens (31) took her own life in front of witnesses in Bredtveit women’s prison in March. Stephens was taken with over 29 kg of cannabis at Gardermoen in May 2022. Stephens’ parents have submitted a compensation claim to Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation (NPE) of approximately one hundred thousand Norwegian kroner for financial expenses related to the death. The parents believe that Jessica did not receive adequate mental health care in the prison, and that the death could have been avoided. Less than 24 hours before the suicide, employees in the prison had notified the specialist health service, but no urgent measures were taken. The state administrator in Oslo and Viken and the police have both launched an investigation into the case. Show more
– The system failed us and Jessica, say Lori and Robert Stephens to VG.
It was in March that their daughter, Canadian Jessica Ann Stephens, took her own life in front of several witnesses in Bredtveit women’s prison.
The 31-year-old was caught with 29.6 kilograms of cannabis at Gardermoen in May 2022. In court, Stephens explained that she thought she was transporting art for payment.
Jessica’s parents have now submitted a compensation claim to the Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation Commission patient injury compensation According to Section 2 of the Patient Injury Act, compensation can be claimed if an injury is due to “failure in the provision of health care, even if no one can be blamed”. (NPE), for financial expenses incurred by the family in connection with the death.
The claim is for just over one hundred thousand Norwegian kroner, and must cover travel expenses, funeral and legal fees.
– This is a start, and later a compensation claim for loss of breadwinner will be brought forward on behalf of Jessica’s daughter, says associate Sofie Blichfeldt Grøndahl at Elden Advokatfirma to VG.
They are also considering a possible compensation claim for human rights violations.
– Could have been prevented
The background for the claim is that Jessica’s parents believe that their daughter did not receive enough or proper health care in prison.
– This is a tragic incident that could have been prevented, says the mother.
On a visit to the prison, the family found piles of diary entries, in which Jessica expressed her increasingly poor mental health, and what she believed to be a lack of health care.
Bredtveit prison in Oslo. Photo: Naina Helén Jåma / VG
Lori Stephens says it’s still hard to read her daughter’s mind.
– Jessica made a bad judgment and ended up in a prison in a foreign country, but is that how you treat a well-educated mother of a 4-year-old with serious mental illness?
Got 20 calls in 30 weeks
During two treatment sessions at the prison’s psychiatric outpatient clinic of a total of 30 weeks, Jessica had a total of 20 conversations with a therapist.
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– We thought she was safe
Journal notes from the prison, the prison’s health service and the specialist health service show that Jessica struggled with increasingly serious obsessions and compulsions. She also had frequent panic attacks, and was acting out towards the prison officers.
A few days before the suicide, she was also put on medication which has listed suicidal thoughts as a possible side effect.
– There were many warning signs, which have all been well documented, but which no one took seriously, claim the parents.
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For a long time, but also in the days before she took her own life, several other inmates expressed concern about her state of health and suicide risk, according to the lawsuit.
Less than 24 hours before the suicide, employees in the prison also notified the specialist health service, without Jessica being attended by health personnel afterwards, and without any urgent measures being taken.
– Necessary life-saving healthcare was not prioritized, and the outcome was brutal. A four-year-old girl has lost her mother, says Grøndahl.
Acting prison manager for Bredtveit prison, Levi Tyriberget, tells VG that they have no comment on the compensation claim that has been sent to NPE, or the parents’ statements.
To questions relating to Jessica’s health follow-up, he replies that they cannot comment on the conditions surrounding the inmate due to the duty of confidentiality.
VG has previously asked the prison whether a suicide risk assessment was carried out on Jessica, as well as put questions to Bydel Bjerke, who is responsible for health follow-up in the prison.
They have both expressed their condolences to the family, but also refer here to the duty of confidentiality.
Created supervisory case
Since 2018, Bredtveit prison has had a higher number of suicide attempts and episodes of self-harm than other prisons.
In the aftermath of Jessica’s death, the Civil Ombudsman visited Bredtveit, and found conditions so “serious and urgent” that the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness was notified.
The state administrator in Oslo and Viken has opened a supervisory case after the incident with Jessica, and the police have also opened a separate investigation.
However, the lawyer believes that they already have enough documentation to be able to establish that there is a violation of human rights according to Article 2 of the ECHR on the right to life. Article 2 on the right to life. “Everyone’s right to life must be protected by law. No one must intentionally deprived of life except in execution of a sentence passed by a court of law after being found guilty of a crime for which the law provides this penalty.” Source: Legal data.
– We will follow this up, but await the investigation by the police and some additional documentation.
The lawyer says the family chooses to be open because they want to protect Jessica’s interests.
– They want to prevent something like this from happening again. They want a change.
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Published: 11.09.23 at 08:58
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2023-09-11 06:58:09
#Claims #compensation #daughter #life #prison #system #failed #Jessica
