The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has concluded that nothing could have prevented the death of a man who died two days after his release from HMP Lincoln.
Craig Lamb, 45, left the prison on 9 September 2025. He died on 11 September from an overdose of heroin and cocaine. An inquest earlier this year recorded his death as accidental.
In his report, Adrian Usher, the PPO, said neither the Prison Service nor healthcare services could have done anything more to change the outcome.
Mr Lamb had received a three-year sentence. In August 2025 he returned to prison on recall after breaching his licence conditions.
He told staff he had used drugs in the past but said he had no current problems. At Lincoln he worked with substance misuse services and attended group therapy.
On release he declined naloxone, an emergency medicine that can save lives after an opioid overdose. He travelled to Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where he had a housing allocation, and attended a probation appointment.
He then missed later probation appointments, and staff could not find him at his accommodation.
It later emerged that he had overdosed on 11 September. His partner tried to give him naloxone while they waited for an ambulance. An hour later, Mr Lamb was pronounced dead.
Toxicology tests found fatal levels of both heroin and cocaine in his blood. In June, the inquest concluded that an overdose caused his death.
According to the PPO, the support Mr Lamb received for his drug use at HMP Lincoln was appropriate. He had never appeared to be under the influence while in the prison. The Ombudsman also found that staff had referred him to the right drug services for after his release.
HMP & YOI Lincoln is a category B reception prison for men in the East Midlands. Its last full inspection before the report, in August 2025, rated it reasonably good on safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.
