Frankland Prison staff traumatised by Mitchell Harrison murder

Oct 9 2011 by Andy Hughes, Sunday Sun

FOUR prison officers have not returned to work following the brutal killing of a paedophile at the North’s most notorious jail.

The staff at Frankland jail in County Durham have been given time off to recover because they remain traumatised by the murder of Mitchell Harrison.

The 23-year-old, who was serving an indefinite sentence for raping a 13-year-old girl, is alleged to have been disembowelled with makeshift weapons by other prisoners in his own cell.

The Sunday Sun understands four prison officers were alerted to the horrifying blade attack by inmates, and when they went to check it out they found Harrison lying in a pool of blood.

The officers tried to revive him but it was too late. It is believed the staff involved have been granted time off work to recover from the ordeal.

Tom Robson, vice chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “I am aware that prison officers have been granted time off following the incident at Frankland.

“Clearly, it has been a horrific time for staff.

“Unfortunately, prison officers at high security jails like Frankland are subject to trauma on a daily basis.

“What the public don’t know is that prisoners often try to commit suicide or self-harm. Prison officers regularly save the life of these prisoners, which is in itself a traumatic experience.

“So we not only protect the prisoners, but we have to protect ourselves as well. Prison officers are always in the firing line.

“Prison officers deal with these people on a daily basis and we don’t get a second thought from the public because everything we do is behind closed doors. It really is an impossible job.”