Mentally ill prisoner who strangled cellmate is jailed for 10 years

A mentally ill prisoner who strangled his cellmate has been jailed for ten years for what a judge described as a “savage” attack carried out without “any justification”.

The bereaved family of Mark Lawlor have criticised the prison service for allowing two prisoners with mental health issues to share a cell.

Michael Connolly (55), of no fixed abode, scalded Mark Lawlor with hot water using a borrowed kettle from a next-door cell before strangling him. He was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in August.

The fatal attack took place in Cloverhill Prison on the night of Friday, November 22nd, 2019, into the early hours of Saturday, November 23rd, 2019. Both men had mental health issues and had been remanded to the prison on unconnected matters. The two men were alone sharing a three-prisoner cell on the night.

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Connolly had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Lawlor by reason of insanity.

The jury had heard that Connolly, who is originally from Dublin but moved to Louth, had delusional beliefs, including that prisoners were in league with prison officers in “a homosexual conspiracy”. They heard Connolly believed that Mr Lawlor (38), from Drumcondra, had “some kind of exalted identity like a king” and was “a kingpin of Dublin”.

A sentencing hearing was told that Connolly’s sister had attempted to have him committed to an institution before his attack on Mr Lawlor and had contacted gardaí by phone and email about her concerns that there might be an incident if Connolly’s mental health further deteriorated.

The jury had been told that a disagreement on the findings of two psychiatrists was “the nub of the case” over whether or not Connolly was sufficiently mentally ill to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

In sentencing Connolly on Friday, Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford said a headline sentence of 15 years was appropriate but reduced that to 12 years’ imprisonment when taking into account Connolly’s mental health history, his admissions to gardaí that he killed Mr Lawlor and his expressions of remorse. She then suspended a further two years of the sentence for five years to grant Connolly an opportunity to reintegrate into society upon his release.

Ms Justice Lankford, when paying tribute to the Lawlor family, commended their “dignity” throughout the case and noted that Mr Lawlor’s mother Ann had “died of a broken heart” at the loss of her son. Ms Justice Lankford noted that Mr Lawlor was “the apple of his mother’s eye” and a “good and decent person”.

Ms Justice Lankford said Mr Lawlor struggled with mental health difficulties and that “no-one had a bad word to say about him”. In outlining the case, the judge said that Mr Lawlor was in Cloverhill on theft charges and that days later Connolly was imprisoned on arson charges.

Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Lawlor’s sister, Sharon Brennan, on behalf of the Lawlor family said that “taking a life should mean a life sentence”.

“The prison system has a lot to answer for, putting two mentally ill patients in a cell together. They said the prison was overcrowded that night but we found a report saying that there was only 93 per cent capacity in the prison on that night. Mark never deserved what happened to him,” she said.

“We would like to thank Inspector Pat Cullen and the team at Clondalkin Garda station. We would also like to thank counsel for the DPP, Tony McGillicuddy SC and his team for everything,” said Ms Brennan.