A 24-year-old man, detained at the Le Havre penitentiary center (Seine-Maritime), committed suicide on Thursday December 28, 2023 by cutting his throat with a piece of glass. He died during the night. The inmate also slightly injured a prison guard in the arm.
A defendant from the Le Havre penitentiary center (Seine-Maritime), aged 24, committed suicide by cutting his carotid artery and injured a guard, the prosecution told AFP on Saturday December 30, 2023, confirming information from Paris Normandy.
Reached by telephone, Bruno Dieudonné, public prosecutor of Le Havre, details the circumstances of this tragedy to France 3 Normandie.
The inmate shared a cell with two fellow inmates. Thursday, December 28 afternoon, he was in his cell when two guards reintegrated one of his two fellow prisoners after the walk.
When they opened the door, prison officers discovered the 24-year-old man.who holds in his hand a piece of glass with which he self-harmed his throat“, explains Bruno Dieudonné.
The supervisors are extremely shocked by the violence of this scene. The carotid artery was deeply affected.
Bruno Dieudonné, public prosecutor of Le Havre
The piece of glass with which the inmate mutilated himself came from “a salad bowl that the inmate had the right to keep in his cell“, specifies the prosecutor.
“The individual then throws himself at them, arms outstretched, and tries to hit them with this piece of glass.“, specifies the prosecutor. One of the agents was hit in the arm. This injury is “light“, specifies in a press release the union of prison officers Ufap Unsa Justice.
The guards then move to safety behind a gate and call on prison officers trained in this type of intervention.
It would have been extremely dangerous for the supervisors to intervene without protection.
Bruno Dieudonné, public prosecutor of Le Havre
Despite the intervention of the SAMU, the defendant died during the night from Thursday to Friday. The investigation opened for attempted homicide on the guards is closed due to the death of the alleged perpetrator.
An investigation to determine the causes and circumstances of the death was opened since the defendant apparently had a suicidal desire, indicates the prosecution. Questioned on this point, the prosecutor told France 3 Normandie that he was not aware of any previous suicide attempt on the part of this defendant.
The 24-year-old man had been in preventive detention at Le Havre prison since last July. He was prosecuted for attempted murder by the Caen public prosecutor’s office.
The prison density of the remand center of the Le Havre penitentiary center stood at 130% on January 1, 2023, according to the International Prison Observatory (OIP).