A judgment which had found the director general of prisons and the Interior Minister responsible for the death of Carlos Chetcuti in February 1995 as a result of a methadone overdose has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal.

The court, however, reduced the quantum of damages awarded by the first court.

Vincent Chetcuti, the father of Carlos Chetcuti, claimed that his son had died in mysterious circumstances while imprisoned in the Corradino Correctional Facility.

He claimed that his son's death was caused by negligence on the part of the director general and the Interior Minister and he requested the court to order defendants to make good the damages he had sustained.

Vincent Chetcuti died in the course of the court proceedings and his place in the litigation was taken over by another relative, Jane Agius.

In October 2010 the First Hall of the Civil Court found in favour of the heirs of Carlos Chetcuti and awarded them €53,497.50 in damages.

Defendants appealed from both the finding of responsibility and from the damages award. The heirs appealed on the basis that the damages were too low.

On appeal, acting Chief Justice Tonio Mallia, Mr Justice Noel Cuschieri and Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi heard that Carlos Chetcuti had a drug habit and was receiving methadone treatment in CCF. The treatment was administered by Susan Galea who was assistant to prisons psychiatrist John Mifsud.

The Court of Appeal heard that Mr Chetcuti died of pulmonary oedema, which was compatible with fatal methadone poisoning. He had been administered a dose of 40cc methadone instead of 20cc, which had been previously administered to him.

The court added that it fully concurred with the findings of the first court to the effect that there was no system for the administration of care to drug dependent inmates within the prisons.

The first court had established that the prison system for drug dependent inmates was sporadic and without rigid guide lines.

There were no qualified nurses within the prisons at the time the death occurred, though it seemed as though the prison psychiatrist and his assistant were not aware of this fact. The prison psychiatrist had told the court that his directives were often not observed.

In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said it disagreed with defendants' argument that they were not obliged to provide the same standard of care in CCF as that expected of a psychiatric hospital outside of prison.

Persons who required medical attention had to receive the same medical care no matter where they were. A prison inmate was placed in the custody of the prison authorities who had to look after him with all due diligence.

The court added that it agreed with the first court's conclusion that Carlos Chetcuti had not contributed to his own death. It was true that Carlos Chetcuti had taken illegal drugs while in prison, but it was the prison authorities' responsibility to ensure that such drugs were not allowed in. Furthermore, the death was the result of a methadone overdose.

The court of appeal however found that the first court's damages award was excessive.

The first court had awarded Carlos Chetcuti's heirs €58,497.50 in damages, but the Court of Appeal concluded that a more appropriate sum in compensation was that of €38,213, which the defendants were ordered to pay to Ms Agius.