Mentally ill man given 10 years for killing cellmate without ‘any justification’

A mentally ill prisoner who killed his cellmate has been jailed for 10 years for what a judge described as a “savage” attack carried out without “any justification”.

Michael Connolly (55), of no fixed abode, scalded Mark Lawlor with hot water using a kettle borrowed from a neighbouring cell before strangling him.

He was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility by a Central Criminal Court jury in August.

The fatal attack took place in Cloverhill Prison on the night of November 22nd, 2019 into the early hours of November 23rd. Both men, who had mental health issues, had been remanded to the prison on unconnected matters and were sharing a 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 Co Louth, had delusional beliefs, including that prisoners were in league with prison officers in “a homosexual conspiracy”.

They heard that he believed 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 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 his mental health further deteriorated.

The jury was 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 Siobhán 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. She noted that the deceased was “the apple of his mother’s eye” and a “good and decent person”.