A man who asked to be placed in the separation unit at Mountjoy Prison wrote six letters expressing suicidal intentions to his family in the month before he was found hanged in his cell, an inquest heard yesterday. The letters - four dated prior to the December 11th last and two undated - were found in the cell after the death of the prisoner on December 13th last.
The man was found hanging by a bed sheet from the window of his shared cell about 3 a.m. on December 13th when he was checked by prison staff. As he was in the separation unit by request he was checked every 15 minutes. His cellmate said the man had been in good form and attended a film the night before his death. Mr William Connolly, assistant governor at Mountjoy Prison, said the separation unit was for "at risk" prisoners. Some were people who needed to be protected from other prisoners while others were at risk of harming themselves. He said some of the prisoners were on "special observation" which meant they were checked every 15 minutes.
He said the prisoner had asked to be placed in the separation unit when he was first incarcerated and indicated he had suicidal tendencies. The man was examined by the prison psychiatrist on September 29th and November 4th and was adjudged not to be a suicide risk. However, he remained on special observation.
A post-mortem by the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Maire Cassidy showed death was due to hanging. Dr Cassidy added the man had a severe degree of coronary heart disease.
She stated his death would have been almost immediate and his pre-existing disease would have made resuscitation more difficult even if he was found immediately. The jury returned a verdict of death by suicide.