Help Caden get expert report written

Hi there my name is Gabriel Ajose and I am sharing this campaign on the behalf of the Stewart Family, I worked with Caden and the family for a few years prior to his untimely passing.

What Happened

On 26 June 2019, whilst detained at HMP/YOI Cookham Wood, Caden complained of a headache and chest pains, and appeared to be in pain and discomfort after playing football and attending the gym. The gym staff failed to pass on this information to healthcare, and other officers were not aware of his condition. He was taken back to his cell where he later rang his emergency cell bell and asked to see healthcare as he felt unwell. The prison officer who attended Caden’s cell stated that he passed this message to healthcare, but the nurses in healthcare deny receiving the message. Healthcare did not attend.

Caden was found unresponsive in his cell over four hours after asking for medical help. He was taken to Medway hospital where he received a CT scan which showed that he had suffered from a brain haemorrhage. He was transferred by ambulance to Kings College Hospital and taken for urgent surgery. He was formally pronounced dead at Kings College Hospital on 27 June 2019. A post-mortem examination revealed the immediate cause of death was a haemorrhage caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

Inquest Ruling

The inquest into the death of 16-year-old Caden Stewart concluded on 10 August 2021. Following a 7 day hearing, the jury found that Caden died of natural causes and that, at the time of Caden’s death, there were “inadequate reporting and recording procedures in place, coupled with insufficient communication between prison officers and healthcare staff combined, which led to healthcare failing to attend Caden Stewart’s requests to see him”. The jury could not conclude that these factors contributed to Caden’s death.



Deborah Coles, director of INQUEST said: “Caden’s obvious distress and calls for help were ignored by staff and as a result a potentially preventable death might have been avoided. Yet again the health and welfare of children in the care of the state has been found wanting. This reinforces our concerns about the inherent risks of prisons for children”.

Caden’s family said: “We sincerely believe that if Caden had received treatment earlier, he would still be with us. These children are in the care of HMP/YOI Cookham Wood and their communication and observation skills are severely lacking. Caden was asking for help from the people who were meant to be looking after him. It breaks our hearts that we were not there to help him that day, and that the people who were trusted to look after him failed him and failed us.

Next Steps

35 children have died in young offender institutions and secure training centres since 1990, the year the UK signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 3 out of the 35 have died at HMYOI Cookham Wood. The family want to take steps to ensure no more young people die at HMYOI Cookham Wood.

Export Report - In order to ascertain whether there is enough evidence to file a civil claim for compensation against the Ministry of Justice on the behalf of HMYOI Cookham Wood following the death of Caden whilst in custody at HMYOI Cookham Wood.

The family have been provided with a deadline of the 10th November to issue the civil claim in court and have been quoted an estimated fee of £2500 for an export report to be written.

Please donate and share, our children and young people should not be dying whilst in custody and under the care of the state, help us make the step to bring about changes.

Thank You!