Teen’s Hanging Death Prompts Calls to Close Unsafe NSW Prison Unit

The young man was on remand at Long Bay correctional centre’s Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC) when he was found hanging on Sunday. Corrective Service NSW said staff began medical response, but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The inspector for custodial services had examined MSPC in 2023 and 2024 and concluded its age and condition prevent it from providing a safe environment, especially for people with disabilities, frailty, or mental illness, and recommended its permanent closure.

Sue Higginson, the Greens justice spokesperson, said she was “absolutely broken” upon hearing of the 19‑year‑old’s death. The inspector’s report described MSPC’s rooms as run‑down, small, with little natural light or ventilation, noting mouldy walls, rusted furniture, vermin evidence, and ligature points in cells across all areas. In 2025, New South Wales recorded 39 deaths in custody, including 12 Indigenous deaths—a record high for First Nations people. Twenty‑two percent of those deaths were by hanging, despite a $16 million program underway since 2023‑24 to remove ligature points from cells over four years.

The tragedy renews pressure on the NSW government to act on the watchdog’s closure recommendation for MSPC and similar units. Observers will watch whether the administration accelerates the ligature‑point removal program, revisits the blocked parliamentary motion to close the units, and how the upcoming coronial inquiry influences future prison safety policy.