Transgender woman remanded in male prison found dead in cell
An investigation has been launched following the death of a transgender female inmate in an all-male prison.
Jenny Swift was found dead on December 30 at 12.40am in her cell at Category B HMP Doncaster men's prison where she had been remanded five weeks before on an attempted murder charge.
Staff and paramedics attempted CPR but she was pronounced dead at 1.10am, the Prison Service said.
Swift, 49, from Seaforth in Sefton, Merseyside, was charged with attempted murder after Eric Flanagan, 26, was found with multiple stab wounds in Balby, Doncaster, on November 15.
She was remanded in custody at Doncaster Magistrates' Court two days later. Mr Flanagan died a month after the incident.
A Prison Services spokeswoman said: "As with all deaths in custody, there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman."
The inquiry into Mr Flanagan's dead is ongoing, police said.
A friend of Ms Swift, who was previously known as Jonathan, told the Sheffield Star that she asked to be put in a women's prison but the request was denied.
Female hormones, that Ms Swift had been taking for three years, were not made available to her in prison, the friend claimed.
The friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "Jenny said that not having [the medication] was making her legs shake, making her feel sad and ill - she said it was like coming off drugs. It made her miserable."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed Ms Swift’s death and said it was aware that she was transgender when she was remanded into the prison, which is run by private company Serco.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has opened an investigation.
A spokeswoman for the PPO said: "We are sorry to be informed of the death of Ms Swift at HMP Doncaster, and can confirm that an independent investigation has begun. We will be in contact with Ms Swift’s family and will try to address any questions they may have.
"Our independent investigation will aim to identify the full circumstances of the death and whether there were any failings in Ms Swift’s care. Where possible we will identify lessons to be learned and make recommendations to help prevent similar deaths in future. We also share any findings with the Coroner to assist with their inquiries."
The Ministry of Justice launched a review of the care of transgender prisoners after the deaths of two inmates at all-male prisons.
Vicky Thompson, 21, was found dead at HMP Leeds in November 2015, and Joanne Latham died at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes in the same month.
The review, which was published in November, revealed that one in four prisons in England and Wales holds at least one transgender inmate.
Data collected in March and April showed that one in four public and private prisons reported they had one or more transgender prisoners.
There were 19 establishments with one transgender inmate, 10 with between two and four, and four holding at least five.
The review said: "It is apparent that the treatment of transgender people in courts, probation and prison services has not kept pace with the development of a more general understanding of the issues surrounding gender in society."
It said allowing transgender offenders to go through the criminal justice system in the gender with which they identify "will, in the great majority of cases, represent the most humane and safest way to act".
It added: "We believe it will also assist successful rehabilitation.
"In the minority of cases where that is not possible, the reasons for departing from this starting presumption must be clear, explicit and made known to the person they affect, especially when it involves assigning someone to a male or female prison."