Government Ministers responsible for overseeing the case of dead mental health patient Lorenzo Robinson have refused to comment on his apparent suicide with one citing his own legal woes as the reason.

Mr. Robinson, 28, was found hanged in his cell at Westgate on July 13. He was incarcerated there after being acquitted on the grounds of insanity of attempting to stab a tourist to death in 2002.

Experts recommended at the conclusion of the trial in 2004 that Robinson, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and depression, be housed in a specialist "forensic psychiatric unit", not a prison.

There is no such venue in Bermuda, and six years of calls for him to be given the help he needed came to nothing by the time he was found hanged from a sheet attached to a ceiling fixture in his cell.

Lawyers Elizabeth Christopher and Llewellyn Peniston, who both represented Robinson, have called for a public inquiry into the case, citing concerns for the welfare of other mentally unwell prisoners.

Since Mr. Robinson's death, this newspaper has repeatedly asked Minister of Health Nelson Bascome and Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing Sen. David Burch:

• Whether a public inquiry will be held

• How Robinson gained access to the materials necessary to hang himself

• Whether he was on suicide watch at the time

• Why arrangements to send him overseas for treatment had not been successful

• What stage plans to institute a forensic psychiatric unit in Bermuda have reached

Mr. Bascome has declined to answer, citing the fact that he is busy fighting theft charges that he faces in Magistrates'Court. Pressed during a break in those court proceedings to address the questions, he told a reporter from this newspaper: "Not right now, you see what I'm doing."

He has indicated that he will look at the case once his own case has concluded.

Mr. Peniston told this newspaper last week that Mr. Bascome was sympathetic to his efforts to get Robinson sent overseas for treatment, but his attention had been distracted by the court proceedings. Meanwhile Senator Burch complained through a Government press officer that his previous response had not been printed in full. That reply had been: "There is an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Robinson. Any comment on the matter would be premature and as such, Minister Burch has declined comment."

His words came after the Police announced that their investigation had concluded and there were no suspicious circumstances. A report is being prepared for the coroner, who will hold an inquest in due course.

Opposition House Leader John Barritt had expressed hope that a Ministerial statement on the topic of Robinson's death would be made in the House of Assembly on Friday in the last session before the summer recess.

However, none was forthcoming, with Mr. Barritt commenting afterwards: "It was very disappointing not to get a statement either from Mr. Bascome or Junior Minister Walter Roban whose responsibility is public safety. I think the questions that were asked ought to be answered by the Government."

Mr. Bascome originally stepped down from his Ministerial role to battle his legal woes but took the Health portfolio back on before they were concluded.

Mr. Barritt said:"It's a matter for the Premier to decide whether or not he should continue, but the last time he stepped down he said he didn't want this to be a distraction and we thought it was the right thing to do at the time. This time around, applying the same reasoning, one is at a loss to understand why he has not stepped down."

His party colleague Michael Dunkley, Shadow Minister for Public Safety, said questions needed to be answered about why Robinson could not be accommodated at the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute for the mentally ill, which he feels would have been more appropriate.

"Westgate was not the place to care for him. That was making it very difficult, if not impossible, for the prison officers. That's not what they're equipped to do. They did the best they could from what I know," he told The Royal Gazette.

In response, a spokeswoman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board said: "Unfortunately, MWI does not have an appropriate on-site facility to care for people in prison who suffer from mental health problems such as Mr. Robinson, as they require a special level of care."