Inquest into the death of war veteran Joseph Woods

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An inquest continued in Burlington today into the death of a war veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder who hanged himself while in prison at Maplehurst on March 9th 2015. Jurors learned more about 42 year old Joseph Woods, a father of 4 who served in special forces in Somalia and Croatia in the 1990’s.

In prison, Woods was in a medical ward and was supposed to be checked on frequently but guards falsified times when they toured the cell and on two occasions they never checked on him at all. It was also noted that Woods did not received his final dose of medications, less than an hour later he was found hanging from his bunk bed by a clothes line.

More than a dozen family members were in attendance today. Many in tears as they sat through hours of testimony. They tell us Joseph was a kind man who always made everyone laugh. They said that Woods’ girlfriend received a letter from Joseph before his death saying that if he doesn’t get his medications at the right time he will kill himself.

The timing of his meds became a crucial part of testimony today. A nurse said around 6pm an hour before Woods was found in his cell, he was set to receive his final dose of medications. The nurse said Woods pretended to take the pills and placed them on the floor instead. The guard opened his door, kicked them out and the nurse threw them away.

The jurors learned that the medications were supposed to be administered 3 times a day however the nurse would be 30 minutes to an hour late or early, leaving Woods without medications for 16 hours even though his medical form clearly stated that he had PTSD.

Woods may have committed suicide in prison but he was taken to hospital and kept on a ventilator. Two days later, doctors declared Woods to be brain dead, which is the official time of death.

The inquest will continue tomorrow.