A MAN convicted of attempting to rob died while a serving prisoner after smoking spice, a probe has found.

James Thomas’ death was investigated independently by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), which ‘aims to make a significant contribution to safer, fairer custody’.

An investigation report has now been published, following the completion of an inquest recently, which states that he died on August 20, 2017, while an inmate at HM Prison Risley.

On May 10, 2013, Thomas was jailed for eight years and three months for attempted robbery and sent to HMP Manchester.

By March 2017, his application for parole was approved, and he was released to live in a probation hostel on April 6.

However, he failed to return on May 7 and was uncontactable, before turning up two days later and failing an alcohol breath test.

His licence was revoked and he was returned to HMP Manchester, before being transferred to HMP Risley shortly after.

The report states that Thomas had battles with alcohol and drugs during his life, and on July 27, a prison officer found him in his cell, ‘apparently under the influence of a psychoactive substance’.

Another incident occurred on August 17, with a prisoner on D-wing telling investigators that Thomas and two other prisoners had entered his cell at about 4.40pm.

It was said that they all smoked a psychoactive with a pipe, with the prisoner recalling feeling ‘high’ and then passing out.

He said when he woke up that another prisoner was lying on his bed, and Thomas was lying on his back on the floor with his eyes open.

The prisoner on the bed checked Thomas’ pulse and said he thought he was dead. An officer was alerted, they radioed an emergency code and began CPR with another officer.

Paramedics arrived with an emergency doctor and managed to detect a heartbeat, with the prisoner stabilised and taken to hospital.

However, he did not regain consciousness and died on August 20 at 5.30pm with his family present.

It was found that Thomas died as a result of a hypoxic brain injury, with toxicology tests failing to detect a psychoactive substance or alcohol.

However, this may be because he was in hospital for three days before his death, allowing time for illicit substances to pass through his system.

The pathologist concluded: “It is highly likely that after consuming spice, he suffered a cardiac arrest due to a fatal synthetic cannabinoid.”

His inquest in August 2024 concluded that Thomas’ death was drug related.

Thomas was one of three prisoners to die at HMP Risley in 2017, with another in March of that year attributed to synthetic cannabinoid toxicity.

During an inspection in June 2016, inspectors reported that almost two-thirds of prisoners said it was easy to obtain drugs, compared to 40 per cent in comparable prisons.

During the investigation into Thomas’ death, the PPO found that he received limited help for substance misuse at Risley.

“Thomas experienced a very limited regime. Paradoxically, this may have made it more likely that he would use psychoactive substances to alleviate the boredom caused by such a regime,” the report states.

It was recommended that the prison governor should ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities in operating strategies in relation to illicit drug use.

Another recommendation was that staff always make a referral to drug treatment services when a prisoner is found to be under the influence of a psychoactive substance.