Mentally ill prisoner who strangled cell mate jailed for 10 years
Paul Neilan
A mentally ill prisoner who strangled his cell mate 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 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, who had mental health issues, were remanded to the prison on unconnected matters and the two men were alone sharing the three-prisoner cell on the night.
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".
