Simon Willerton

Simon Willerton was a shy and kind-hearted 17-year-old White boy who appeared young for his age.

Simon died a self-inflicted death during his detention at Armley Prison in Leeds in 1990 awaiting trial on petty crime charges.

Simon had repeatedly told prison officers that he was being targeted and bullied by other prisoners. He received medical attention several times after attacks in prison.

In the weeks leading up to his death, Simon made several attempts on his life. Probation staff warned the prison that he would make another attempt.

The inquest jury returned an 'open' verdict into his death. 

Simon’s self-inflicted death was the sixth in prisons in England and Wales in just over six months. His death sparked a backlash over the growing number of teenagers in overcrowded adult prisons.

Following the inquest, campaign groups condemned the repeated failures to tackle the conditions in Armley Prison, which had already been criticised in a scathing report on self-harm in prisons carried out by Judge Stephen Tumin. The report had recommended that teenagers be removed from Armley.