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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Records falsified relating to mentally ill inmate found dead, prison watchdog finds
Records relating to the supervision of a severely mentally ill Spanish resident who was found dead in his cell in Cloverhill Prison were falsified, a prison watchdog has found. The Office of the Inspector of Prisons, which is led by Mark Kelly, was highly critical of how the Irish Prison Service (IPS) handled the detention of the deceased, whom it called 'Mr O', in 2022. It determined Mr O was in custody on suspicion of a minor offence and was due to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital the day after he was found dead in a close-supervision cell on August 10th, 2022. Prisoners under close supervision are supposed to be checked every 15 minutes. A prison journal recorded that staff had checked the prisoner at 7am, 7.15am and 7.30am. However, Mr O had been found unresponsive sitting on the toilet in his cell at 6.50am, causing staff to issue a 'Code Red' and call for an ambulance. This 'clearly' indicates the three journal entries had been filled in ahead of time by staff, 'entirely negating the value of this recording safeguard', the inspectorate said in a newly published report. The inspectorate also noted 'an (unsuccessful) effort had been made to erase the three entries'. The statutory inspection body has raised concerns about the falsification of prison records on several previous occasions. It echoed concerns contained in a recent report by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) that found several cases of records being falsified. The issue was particularly notable in Cloverhill and Limerick Prisons, where falsified records were discovered following several prisoner deaths in close-supervision cells. The CPT said minimal action had been taken by local prison management to address this. The Inspector of Prisons said it is 'imperative' the falsification of records 'is treated with the utmost seriousness' by management. Regarding Mr O, it said he was detained on a public order charge at Dublin Airport on August 4th after he was observed acting erratically. He was unable to take up bail after he was judged to be of unfit mind to sign the bond. In Cloverhill, his behaviour was observed as 'bizarre and erratic'. Staff reported he 'was standing on his bed in a state of undress and shouting at the floor and refused to respond to questions asked by the nurse'. Gardaí told prison staff the judge would strike out the charge against Mr O if treatment could be arranged. Staff also learned he had spent time in psychiatric hospitals outside the State and had not been taking his medication for a lengthy period of time. A place was found for Mr O in St Vincent's hospital in Fairview. He was due to be transferred on August 11th. However, early on August 10th, he was found unresponsive in his cell. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at 9.45am. The inspectorate's report does not detail a cause of death. The inspectorate repeated recommendations that 'urgent consideration' be given to quickly transferring mentally ill suspects charged with minor offences to local psychiatric hospitals. 'It remains unacceptable that prisoner-patients such as Mr O, suspected of minor offences, and suffering from a mental health disorder, cannot more rapidly access in-patient psychiatric treatment in local civil psychiatric hospitals.' In response, the IPS said it is working on implementing several recommendations in this area and that additional resources are being assigned to Cloverhill. Regarding the falsification of records, it said a 'digitisation project' will commence later this year that will improve record-keeping and limit 'the risk of falsification'. It said staff who are found to falsify records 'are sanctioned in line with the code of discipline'.
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Irish Times
Dublin man died from face, neck and head injuries after prison assault, inquest told
A Dublin man who died from severe injuries to his face, neck and head following an assault in prison had to be identified by fingerprint and palm analysis, an inquest has heard. Martin Salinger, a 43-year-old horse and carriage driver originally from The Liberties in Dublin, had been on remand in Cloverhill Prison, having been charged two months before his death in connection with drugs and firearms offences. Mr Salinger was discovered unresponsive in his cell on the morning of October 5th, 2024 and was pronounced deceased after suffering fatal wounds. Three prisoners were in the two-man cell when the fatal incident occurred. One of the two other prisoners sustained injuries in the row, which is understood to have involved a makeshift weapon, and was treated in the prison infirmary. READ MORE A brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Thursday heard that Mr Salinger had to be identified by fingerprint and not by a visual manner following his death. Det Garda James Cunningham of the Garda National Technical Bureau said Mr Salinger's body was removed from his cell on the morning of October 5th and taken by gardaí to Dublin City Mortuary. Mr Cunningham told coroner Dr Cróna Gallagher that he took a set of finger and palm prints from Mr Salinger later that day following a postmortem. Dr Gallagher noted that the finger and palm prints were subsequently compared with a database and confirmed by Dr Kim Connick of Forensic Science Ireland. Mr Salinger's medical cause of death was noted by Dr Gallagher as blunt force head, neck and face injuries. As criminal proceedings have commenced in relation to Mr Salinger's death, a request for the inquest to be adjourned was granted. Separately, an inquest into the death of Croatian man Josip Štrok, a 31-year-old carpenter who lived in central Dublin, was opened on Thursday. A brief sitting heard that Mr Štrok died as a result of blunt force head injuries. Mr Štrok died four days after suffering severe head injuries at Grange View Way, Clondalkin, on March 30th last year. His mother, Julia Štrok Underwood, attended the hearing remotely and gave evidence that she identified the body of her son at Tallaght University Hospital's intensive care unit on the day of his death. Detective inspector Padraig Boyce requested an adjournment of the inquest as criminal proceedings have commenced, which was granted by Dr Gallagher. Mark Lee (43), Connor Rafferty (20) and Anthony Delappe (18) have all been charged with Mr Štrok's murder. Dr Gallagher offered her 'sincere sympathies' to Ms Štrok Underwood on her son's 'very sad death.'
