| Location | Burnley |
| Age | 14 years |
| Cause of Death | Suicide |
| Date of Birth | 11/1989 |
| Date of Death | 8/2004 |
| Visitors | 3,575 since 05/09/2007 |
| Creator |
Adam Rickwood
August 9th 2004
Age 14
Born in Burnley
Youngest person to die in custody. Adam commited suicide whilst being detained.
Adam grew up in Burnley, Lancashire and had a difficult childhood. Adam didnt know his father and lived with his mother & step father along with 3 sisters. Adam loved life, his school, cooking and he loved his family. He had a bed-ridden grandad who he thought the world of & used to prepare insulin for. In 1999 Adam's life began to change. He lost a cousin and the following year his beloved gran & grandad died. . Adam changed school and could not settle. He became disruptive & fell into the wrong crowds. Adam began to self-harm and overdose on drugs or drink several times resulting in hospital addmission 7 times. These were all cries for help.
After he was excluded permanently from school he was shifted from institution to institution sometimes on aa daily basis.
Adams mum, Mrs Pounder got respite care from social services who agreed to send him to a home in Blackpool one week every month. This ended because of funding.
In July 2004 Adam was accused of stabbing a 19 yr old male, Stephen Mcnally. Adam denied the charge and was remanded in custody but because of more financial cuts they could'nt place him locally. Lancashire social sevices failed to inform the board that Adam had a complex history that included self harm and attemted suicide. The first place that became avaliable was at Hassockfield, a secure training centre in Consett. 116 miles away. Adam was moved here without his parents being told. After Adam was sent away Mr Mcnally went to a police station to drop the charges & he was told to come back another day because the officer who took the original statement was on holiday. Adam was happy and expected to be released as soon as Mr Mcnally withdrew his statement. he had talked to his mum about coming home.
This didnt happen. On his arrival at Hassockfield Adam was strip-searched. Adam didn't phone home for 3 days. When his mum did get to see him she said, he was quiet, head down and told her of staff beating a kid. The day before Adam died he was found to have contraband - cigs. His privaliges were withdrawn & his tv & HiFi removed. On the evening of his death Adam had been restrained for not going to his room. This form of retsraint included an upward blow to the nose, which is an unbelivable accepted form of restaint. This left Adam 's face full of blood & in pain. Half an hour after this Adam was reported to have come out for supper and he was fine. Another report states that he was so distressed that he had blocked out his windows with toothpaste & squirted shampoo all over his room. The night shift officers had not been informed of the evenings events and were supposed to check on the children every 15 mins. This wasnt done. There were lapses. At 11.15 he was observed looking out of his bedroom window. By 12pm he has killed himself by tying his shoelace around his neck and attaching it to the curtain rail. He was 14.
Some letters from Adam
25/07/04
Dear Mam/Dad,
Mam, I can't stay in here another two weeks or less cause I need to be at home with you's ...
I need to be in my own home and my own bed, it's either that or I'm gonna crack up. I can't be away from home and I won't be, trust me my head is up my a*** and I can't last much longer. I will end up trying to kill myself and this time I will probably succeed. I will then at least be with my nana and grand-dads. If I could have the chance to be at home,
and be with my family I will never get in trouble again in my life. I will do anything to be with you's, but if people try and stop that I will flip. I've got to go cause I'm too upset to write any more.
Luv you's all
Adam
Undated (July 2004)
To Mum,
I am in Hassockfield secure training centre in Durham ... There is a 30-foot wall and cage all around me, but who's a****.
I need some posters and stamp. Please come and see me. All this s*** has f***** my head up and I keep on blanking out and going
dizzy ... Make sure someone sees McNally please.
Got to go. Luv you loads
Adam
Dear Mam, Dad, Sarah, Sharon, Laura, Nadia [his girlfriend], Nana and all of my loved ones.
Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!
I will miss of all you's, and I know all of you's will miss me. I know some of you will think I'm daft, stupid and selfish but that's what you think. I will be OK with my granddads and my nana and I can look after them and make sure they're all right. I'm sorry.
I would like to be buried with my granddad Rickwood. I want my dad, Craig, Uncle Dave, Martin, Uncle Tom and Uncle Ste to
carry my coffin to my granddad please. I want you to play these songs for me please. - 2pac, That's The Way It Is;
UB40 - Red Red Wine; Bob Marley - NoWoman No Cry.
I love you all. Sorry.
PS I would like to be buried with my gold and my other personal belongings!! Especially a joint of green and a bottle of
scotch for me and my granddad!
I have created this page for you Adam. To say sorry. Im sorry that at 14 you thought there was no other way. Im sorry our 'caring' institutions didnt look after you and give you the help support and love you were so desperately crying out for. Im sorry were vunerable, mixed up and a long long way from home. Im sorry that your family & friends dont have you in their lives anymore. You were a loving caring boy who fell off the rails when life got hard. You dealt with so much at such a young age, you didn't deserve to be treated as you were. I hope your in a better place sweetheart, with no worries & where everyone shines. Rest In peace Adam.x
I have created this page from information from various sources. I didn't know Adam or his family. I have a son of my own who is 13 and finding life hard at times. I was very affected by his story and wanted to do something. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family, especially his mother, Carol, who must miss him everyday. I am glad to say that Adam's story is still in the media due to the dispicable way his cries for help went unheard. Of course as usual there's no-one to blame and lessons will be learnt, even a report was published on Mon Sept 3rd stating that sweeping changes must be made to how children are cared for in custody. Wether things will actually change remains to be seen.
If there are any inaccuracies or you would like to contact me please don't hesitate.
Samantha.x
XXXXX-----UPDATE-----XXXXX
MONDAY 28 JULY 2008
Physical restraint methods used on young people in custody and introduced by the government last year have been abolished by the Court of Appeal.
Three judges decided that the rules at Secure Training Centres in England and Wales breached human rights.
Its about time.
*****~~~UPDATE~~~***** JAN 10 2011
A second inquest into the death of the youngest person to die in custody begins today after a high court battle.
The first inquest heard evidence that Adam had been identified as a vulnerable child with a history of self-harm and suicide attempts.
At the first hearing, in 2007, the coroner refused to allow the jury to consider whether the use of force was lawful. The jury returned a verdict saying that he intended to take his own life.
Backed by the pressure group Inquest, Adam's mother, Carol Pounder, sought a judicial review of the proceedings and in January 2009, Mr Justice Baker found that the coroner acted unlawfully, and that the physical interference with Adam was a breach of STC rules and an assault on him. He quashed the verdict and ordered a new inquest.
Adam's death attracted parliamentary and public concern and led to calls for a radical overhaul of the use of force on children in custody.
The inquest is expected to examine, among other issues, the circumstances in which restraint can be used against children and the type of restraint that can be used.
The fresh inquest will hear evidence from the officers who restrained Adam, and Ellie Roy, the former chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, which oversees the rules relating to children in custody.
~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~ Thursday Jan 27th 2011
An inquest jury has blamed unlawful restraint methods for contributing to the youngest death in custody in Britain for more than a century and concluded there had been a serious system failure at the detention centre.
A rehearing ordered by the appeal court found today that the manhandling of Adam and a "distraction" blow to his nose were "more than minimally" relevant to his suicide.
The jury of four men and five women unanimously condemned the running of the centre as "an unlawful regime" with a "serious system failure in relation to the use of physical control in care" both before and at the time of Adam's death.
The panel also criticised staff training done at the time at the facility, run by the private firm Serco, and the Youth Justice Board.
The decision overturned a verdict by a previous inquest jury, which did not hear details of the violence and ruled simply that Adam took his own life. It was welcomed by Adam's family and by campaigners.
Today, is a good day. Nothing can bring back Adam, but maybe, just maybe a few small lessons can be learned.
Thinking of you Carol.x
Missing you
Adam im missing you more than anything life feels so slow and hard at the minute... i wish you was here just to cheer me up...... as the seconds pass by n the minutes and the hours n the years nothing seems to get easier it seems to get harder... just lettin u know bro il neva eva eva 4get u or stop loving you or missing you .. i love u n miss u xxxxxxxxxxxxx
MISSIN U SO MUCH ADAM
JUST 2 LET U NO IM MISSIN U SO MUCH ADAM YESTERDAY WAS THE HARDEST DAY OF OUR LIFE YOU HAD BEEN GONE 4YEARS IT WAS SO HARD 2 ACCEPT THAT, MY HEART FELT LIKE IT WAS IN A MILLION PEACE'S ! LOVE YOU & MISS YOU ADAM LOVE YA LIL SIS XX
>>THINKING OF U ADAM<<
JUST 2 LET U NO I STILL THINK OF U EVERY MINUTE OF MY LIFE BRO I MISS U SO MUCH ADAM U WENT SO SOON & SO QUICK U WAS THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD AS I THOUGHT THINGS WAS STARTING 2 GET EASIER THERE NOT THEY SEEM TO BE GETTING HARDER:( I TRY TO KEEP ON TRACK 2 LOOK AFTER MUM
I LOVE U xXx
or8 luv.x.Thers bin alot of heartache since u av been gone lad* u wer always up4 a gud laugh;) a gud boyfreind n freind*n i miss u soooo much* wish i new ow i felt wen u wr ere n cuda tld ya bt ino u no:) R.I.P xXx LOVE YA LOTSS xXx gobless u xXx
xxxx
Rest in peace lovex i miss ya loadzzzzz x u might not b here in person but we no ur here in spirit n most of all in my heart x i love uto bits n ope we meet again in heaven x not 1 day goes by that i dnt think ov ya n miss ya mad laugh lol u were a funny lad*we ad sum gud tyms n i will tresure them memories x love you loadz
HIYA M8 RIP BABES MISS YA LOADS YA WILL AND ALWAYS WAS MA BEST MATE WE HAD SOME GD TYMS ME AND YOU DIDNT WE XXXX RIP LOVE ZOE XXX
Hey Adam,
Look after your mum sweetheart, let her know your around if you can. Hope you havent got a care in the world. Carol, im so sorry for your pain. Anyone who reads your heart-rending message how distraught you are and how much Adam means to you. I can only imagine what your days are like without him and how your world has been ripped apart. Your pain sounds very raw and it must be impossible to rest without getting any sort of answers that you deserve. I truley hope Adam is at peace and as time goes by you find a little peace in your heart and mind. My love to you and all your family. Samantha.x
MY SPECIAL SONxADAMxxXX
Hey baby.
Im missing you more than anything in the worldxx
Id do just anything to hold you again ADAMxxx
Life is so diffrent without you adamxx
It will never ever be the same,
It just gets harder by the day not having you with me anymorexx
When i was getting your,e sisters xmas pressies and megans it really got to me,i kept looking at things what you would of wanted and liked.xx
I just wanted to go and get it all for you,XxxX
Then reality came flooding back!!!THE GOVERMENT MADE SURE THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO THIS !!!!THEY LOCKED YOU UP FOR A CRIME YOU DIDNT COMMIT!!!
AND THEY HAVE THE PROOF ,YOU DID NOT DO IT!!!!THEY FAILED MY BABY, THEY LOCKED YOU UP AND DIDNT EVER LET YOU BACK,THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURE DEATH ADAMXXXTHE IDIOTS GAVE ME A BRUISED AND BATTERED LITTLE CORPSE BACK!!!THEY WOULD NOT EVEN LET ME LOOK AT YOURE LITTLE BODY!!!!!!!!
WHAT KIND OF SICK SAD -------- COULD EVER DO THAT??????????
I only seen youre little face,XXXXX
THE ANIMALS HAD EVEN BRUISED THAT.!!!!!!!!!!!
ADAM MY LITTLE ANGEL I WILL PROMISE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART,THAT FOR AS LONG AS IM ON THIS EARTH I WILL FIGHT WITH ALL 'MY LOVE FOR YOU'XXTO BRING THE MONSTERS TO JUSTICE,AND HOLD THERE HEADS IN SHAME!!!!
I pray with all my heart that this will never happen again,that another little childs life they ever get to take again,they think they can beat a child causing so much pain,left bruised and bleeding and humiliated no one to even share the pain.the authourities they neglect all the children they lock up,they wont even admit to the TRUTH as to what goes on behind closed doors!!!
NOT EVEN AT THE INQUEST DOES THE TRUTH GET TOLD,THE JURY THEY GET SENT OUT !!!!WHEN TO THE CORONER THE TRUTH OF HOW BAD YOU WAS BEATEN,THE GOVERNOR (OF DEATH CAMP)DID UNFOLD .THEN THE YOUTH JUSTICE BOARD GAVE SOME EVIDENCE TO,THEY TOLD THE CORONER THAT,THEY DID NOT ALLOW (DEATH CAMP)HASSOCKFIELD TO BEAT UP KIDS THE WAY THEY BEAT UP YOU,THEY EVEN ADMITTED THAT YOU HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG,ALL YOU DID WAS SAY 'NO'IM NOT GOING TO MY CELL WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?????THE CORONER HAD ALL THE EVIDENCE IN FRONT OF HIM TO SEE,,THIS PROVED THAT MY LITTLE BOY ADAM,REALLY HAD NOT DONE NOTHING WRONG....
THE CORONER HE HAS A LOT TO ANSWER TO AS WELL,FOR HE WAS THE ONE WHOM TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO HIDE ALL THE TRUTH AND EVIDENCE!!!!FROM THE JURY AS WELL........SO VERY VERY MINIMUM FACTS OF EVIDENCE DID THE JURY GET TO SEE,,,,,SO PLEASE TELL ME HOW ON EARTH A 'TRUE 'VERDICT OF HOW YOU PASSED AWAY ????COULD ANY PERSON AT ALL DELIVER TO ME AND FOR OTHERS TO SEE?????????????????????
If any parent/carer/guardian beat a child in there home,like they do when you are locked away ,it would be neglect/and child abuse torture.we would be charged and be in court for it,yet why is this not the case in child prisons???????????????????
If i could have just one life time wish,id wish just to be able to hold you,This i know is not possible it would never come true,Again the tears are flooding, ADAM IM REALLY MISSING YOUXXxxXXMy heart aches with sadness the pain is so hard to bare,you was my only SON my little teddybear,at night you always got in bed with me,you was 14 yrs old adam, still you wanted a cuddlexx
We would take a brew to bed with us and have a cigarette,i know you wasnt old enough to of been smoking babe,i told you it was wrong,you had so many problems i didnt make a fuss,id rather you was truthful,so you didnt lie to me.
I accepted that you did smoke that was between you and me.
We would lie and talk and laugh and many a time there was lots of tears,
We had lost so many loved ones in the past few years,
(you was only eight ADAM at the time ,when you realised that when people died they didnt come backxx)
I realised you had problems ADAM, that even me as youre MUM didnt have the expertise, to help you through them all.
We went to ask the doctor for some proffesional help.
This we waited a long time for,and i had to then Demand that my little boy was hurting brought on by alot of grief,wed lost so many loved ones (its not just like losing one of your teeth)youre little heart was hurting you didnt know what to do,every one you really loved had gone to heaven above and left youx
Days turned into months babe,before we knew it even years was going past to,all we really wanted was some proffesional help for you,the authourities i turned to,i BEGGED for them to help, us ADAM this fell on death ears to..........WE kept going back and begged them some more ....eventually they did listen to me after id had to shout and scream at them and refuse to go away again,so they could close the door again
they said you had lots of problems and promised to give us some HELP what a load of lies did the SOCIAL SERVICES TELL!!!!
They said u needed some rest bite care,to give us both a break,
you had started to self harm by now,just how much more can my little boy takexxxHe is really starting to worry me i told the social worker,he hears voices calling him and ive even heard him having conversations and answering aswell,he punches the walls with anger,breaking his little bones,he has started drinking and older lads are taking advantage he really isnt well.the social worker promised they would do all they could to help,,the rest bite will do him good,and you mum as well.
This was arranged after several months of waiting,and ADAM still hurting himself,off he went to blackpool to the restbite care,we met all the staff and they really did care,the s.worker didnt even bother to tell them any history or why adam was there,i told the staff all about ADAMS background and he really needed help,this rest bite care was for a week,ADAM did settle and stayed for 5 nights but then he rang me and wanted to come home,he said he was missing me,nothing else was wrong,so i asked to talk to staff and they said ADAM just missed his mumxxso i rang the social worker and told him everything,he said just leave him there.this is my little boy u are talking about,so he said it was upto me if wanted to go and get him i could.
So i went and got adam he said he had had a good time,i just wanted you mum,but will i be able to come back another time?(s.services promised r.bite care every 2 months)
I asked staff will adam be able to come back again they said they would have him any time atall,so when we eventually seen s.worker again we told him everything,we decided it was a good place for adam to go,so when he has r.bite care adam should go to them again,this wasnt the case the s.services didnt keep there promise,they failed ADAM again,after 10 months of back and forth and things getting really desperate,the s.worker eventually got some r.bite care for adam not at the same place,as promised.adam went the staff was really horrible,they didnt seem to care i didnt like them,but i didnt say to ADAM how i felt,ADAM stayed when i was leaving i told adam ring me t.nitexxtonight never came(just 3hours had passed) when adam rang me crying the staff had assaulted him,i rang the s.worker whom was not interested they wouldnt even take me to get ADAM so i went on my own,ADAM said they accused him of sniffing aerosoles adam denied it,they said he was a liar this upsett adam,they then said he had broke a picture which another boy even told them he had done it by accident,not adam,they wouldnt listen though so adam swore at the man,and went upstairs the man ran up and grabbed adam which led to others (staff)getting involved adam said they threw him down the stairs his back was all bruised,the police came they took ADAM to hospital to clarify whether he was under the influence of anything,which he was NOT.
the police did not charge any staff for assault as they said there was not enough evidence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was just the begining of all systematic failures,by all the authourities of my little boy.
You was always my special little man,and i tried my best to get you everything you wantedXxXYOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY SPECIALONEXXXX
I miss you so much ADAMxxLove you lots jelly totXxxX
Give grandad a big hug from me and Nana,it would of been there Wedding Anniversary y.dayxxnana missess grandad lotsxxx
ONE DAY WE WILL BE BACK TOGETHER LITTLE MANXXGOOD NITE BABY I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD ALWAYS AND FOREVERXXXMUMXXXXXXXXX
so sorry 4 your loss
i was in this kind of situation,2 years ago my son was sent to prison for the same crime that he didn't commit.And the letters sound familiar to me,Adam so much like my son,i can only imagine how you must be feeling and my heart goes out to you such a lovely boy let down by our justice system once again.My love and thoughts with you always.r.i.p Adam you handsome young lad look over your family sweet dreams babe xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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