Eighteen-year-old Tuan Ho was found hanging in his cell at HMP Chelmsford on Monday evening.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble programme, said: "It is a tragedy when a teenager takes their own life in the care of the state. Even more so when that teenager has been accused of a non-violent crime and has not even been sentenced.
"To prevent this waste of young lives we must ensure remand is used more sparingly and that regimes are more nurturing."
The Prison Service said in a statement: "HMP Chelmsford prisoner Tuan Ho (dob 21/10/92) was found hanging in his cell at 7:16pm on Monday 4 July. Staff attempted CPR and paramedics attended but he was pronounced dead at hospital at 8:15pm.
"As with all deaths in custody the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation."
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