After being hospitalised for two weeks in an unconscious state, convicted prisoner Shawn Thom yesterday succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Deputy Director of Prisons, Kevin Pilgrim confirmed.
Thom, 22, had been hospitalised in the High Dependency Unit of the hospital, after being initially admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Stabroek News had reported Prisons Director Gladwin Samuels as saying that the prisoner had been showing signs of improvement and was expected to be released from the hospital.
However, Pilgrim related to this newspaper that the prison service was informed yesterday that Thom passed away around 8.30 am.
He noted that the police were immediately informed of the death. Pilgrim explained that from preliminary investigations it was revealed by Thom’s cellmate that he was pounding his head against the concrete wall of his cell. The police, he said, would have to question the cellmates further to establish what transpired prior to him being found in an unconscious state.
Samuels had said previously that based on the report he received, Thom was relocated from one section to another at the Camp Street Prison after he stabbed another prisoner with a mop stick.
During checks on May 26th, it was reported to Samuels that Thom was found with what appeared to be swelling to the face. He was referred to the GPH and the matter was reported to the police for further investigation.
