Updated | Corradino inmate found dead, ministry hits out Labour reaction

Updated with statement by the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs at 4:30pm

CCF inmate Stephen Spiteri, 29, was found dead in prison earlier this morning at about 7:45am. He was being held inside Division 11 at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

A government statement said Spiteri had been found “dead, lying down on his bed and covered in his cell.” He was certified dead by a doctor from the Paola health centre. The cause of death is not yet established, although sources said the inmate could have died of suffocation.

Duty magistrate Gabrielle Vella is leading the inquiry. The inmate's family has already been informed.

The inmate was serving four years and six months in prison for aggravated theft, but it is suspected that he might have been a police informant inside the prisons. Police sources say homicide is not being ruled out in preliminary investigations.

Spiteri had been briefly mentioned during the trial of John Attard (aka Ganni l-Muha) and Benny Attard for the 2001 murder of Gozitan warden Fortunata Spiteri. According to Superintendent Pierre Calleja, testifying court, investigators had learned that il-Muha had approached a fellow inmate, Stephen Spiteri, at Corradino Correctional Facility and proposed to kill Benny Attard as Attard would be a key witness in the proceedings against him.

Labour MP Michael Falzon has called for a serious re-evaluation of the prison operations. “It is more than obvious that a serious evaluation of all aspects of the operation take place… in the space of a few days we’ve had allegations of sexual abuse, drug abuse, and exploitation. This situation is unacceptable.”

Falzon said such allegations cast aspersions on CCF employees when they did not deserve it. “The last intake of prison warders was in 2005 when the prison population was much lower. The CCF has been under the care of an acting director for the past two and half years, and has experienced overcrowding and an acute lack of management structure.”

The minsitry for justice and home affairs has condemned what it said was the Opposition’s “insensitivity” in calling for a re-evaluation of prison operations after the death of 29-year-old inmate Stephen Spiteri.

Ministry statement
In a statement, the ministry accused the Labour party of trying to score “cheap political points” from the tragedy that took place at the Corradino Correctional Facility at 7:45am today Wednesday.

 “All incidents inside CCF are being taken seriously and investigated by an inquiring magistrate, and the minister has called for the investigation’s conclusion in the shortest time possible,” the ministry said.

The ministry said a call for applications for a director for correctional services had been recently issued and new managers appointed.

The minstry said it had already published a Bill on reparative justice, while a report on shortcomings inside the CFF by a board of inquiry appointed in 2009 is being acted upon.

“This process is being carried out by the task force appointed by the ministry which includes external experts and ministry officials. The task force’s analysis clearly shows that the CCF’s organisational structure needs substantial chages to safeguard basic aspects of control, security and other operations.”

The ministry said that the CCF had almost 600 inmates. “Although the proportion of warders to inmates has decreased, our island’s average is in line with international statistics. It’s more down to old work practices and work-shifts that give the impression that the situation requires attention,” the minsitry said.

The ministry added that before new recruitment takes place, a human resources exercise will have to be prepared to guage the number of new warders needed.