Thankfully, wrongful deaths are rare in the Irish prison system, but there is a chance of murder in our prisons every day.
All incidents are prevented by an intelligence system carefully managed by the prison service, which deals with the threats on a daily basis – often through its own detailed investigative networks within prisons.
Just two days before his fatal attack, Robert O’Connor was the victim of a vicious attack and was transferred to the other end of Mountjoy Prison for his own safety.
But the 34-year-old told prison officers he didn’t think anyone else was threatening him.
He was wrong – and last night prison sources said they also had no information he was at risk of another attack after he was transferred.
Sources say prison bosses believe O’Connor’s attackers had no intention of killing him, but it’s now up to the Garda Homicide Inquiry to determine.
More than 500 detainees are under what is known as a “restricted detention regime” for protection, which means they are kept in a cell for up to 19 hours a day.
If I get a life sentence, it doesn’t matter
Figures from April showed that 575 prisoners were in this type of protective custody – and of those, 563 had requested protective transfer.
But not O’Connor, who didn’t believe he was being threatened when interviewed by prison officials after he was first attacked last week. He did not want to go into the protective regime.
He is the first person to be the victim of a wrongful assault death in our prison system since a murder in Cork Prison in May 2015.
In this case, Waterford man Brian Veale murdered a fellow inmate after an argument about changing television channels.
At the trial, the court heard evidence that Veale stabbed Graham Johnson through the heart with a carving knife and smiled as he told a witness, “If I get a life sentence, it doesn’t matter.”
This was the first unlawful killing in our prisons since Gary Douch was beaten to death in Mountjoy Prison in August 2006.
Douch’s killer was subsequently convicted of manslaughter with diminished responsibility.
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Robert O’Connor, who died after being assaulted at Mountjoy Prison
Robert O’Connor, who died after being assaulted at Mountjoy Prison
The two men were in a holding cell with six other prisoners when Egan beat Douch to death.
In January 2004, Stephen Wall, with an address in Shankill, south Dublin, stabbed Alan Green, of Bray in Co Wicklow, to death in Mountjoy Prison and was later convicted of manslaughter.
These fatal incidents are rare, but our prisons remain a powder keg – with more than 4,030 prisoners in Ireland’s prisons this week, the system is at over 96 per cent capacity.
We still need about 600 places in the prisons
Last April, Prison Officers’ Association (POA) President Tony Power said overcrowding leads to increased tension and incidents of violence.
“We still need about 600 places in the prisons,” he said at the time.
“We have about 4,200. We need about 4,800 or 5,000.
“Because prisons are now reopening, prisoner-to-prisoner violence has increased – and we had a couple of incidents at Mountjoy last week where some staff were injured,” he warned at the time.
This will be cold comfort to the family of Robert O’Connor, affectionately known as ‘Robbie’ by his loved ones.
However, since last Friday night, Gardaí have been treating the brutal attack as a murder investigation, gathering key evidence including obtaining the clothing the suspects were wearing and analyzing CCTV from prison.
“There is a clear line of inquiry in this case, but there is absolutely no reason to rush into anything here,” a source said last night.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/it-is-rare-but-the-potential-for-murder-is-a-daily-hazard-in-our-prisons-41888769.html It’s rare, but the potential for murder is a daily hazard in our prisons
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