Two prisons failed men in distress who later took their own lives, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Adrian Usher, has found. He set out his findings in two separate reports.
The first report concerns Alexander Muzyczka, 37, who spent nine days at HMP Leeds in February 2025. It was his first time in prison. Staff noted that he was behaving strangely. Mr Usher found that he should have received a mental health assessment “with more urgency”.
Mr Muzyczka would not accept that prison rules applied to him. He told officers that he was the “saviour of God” and a sovereign citizen. He also claimed membership of an international cult which believes that, because it acts under divine guidance, it answers to no government.
Mr Usher did not criticise individual members of staff. He said, however, that the prison should reconsider what it treats as an “urgent referral”. He also found an unacceptable delay before officers entered Mr Muzyczka’s cell to try to get him medical help at the time of the incident.
The second report examines the death of Peter Magloire, 65, at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. Mr Magloire said that officers and other prisoners posed a threat to him, and staff noted his paranoia.
At times he engaged with staff and took part in activities in the prison. His paranoia grew, however, and he harmed himself. By December 2022 he was on ACCT, the prison suicide prevention system.
In January 2023 a recommendation followed that he should move to the prison’s medical wing, with a view to his admission to hospital. The move did not happen. He died six days later.
A member of the medical staff reportedly made a dismissive and offensive remark about him at the time. That person no longer works at the prison.
The Ombudsman judged Mr Magloire’s treatment inadequate. The prison took no action when it could and should have done, he said. Team meetings also gave too little attention to his case.
The Ombudsman said the prison had failed to move Mr Magloire away from Wormwood Scrubs. A transfer could have eased his stress and saved his life, he found.
Both establishments are category B reception prisons for men. Inspectors last carried out full inspections at Leeds in October 2025 and at Wormwood Scrubs in September 2025. They rated safety poor at Leeds and not sufficiently good at Wormwood Scrubs.
