Convicted murderer brings High Court action seeking reintegration to general prison

High Court

A man serving a life sentence for murder has brought an action seeking to compel Portlaoise Prison authorities to reintegrate him into the jail’s general population.

Warren Dumbrell (51), once of Emmet Place, Inchicore, Dublin 8, was in 2011 convicted of murdering Christopher Cawley five years earlier, at Tyrone Place Flats, Inchicore. Dumbrell’s brother Jeffrey was also convicted of killing Cawley.

Dumbrell is suing the Governor of Portlaoise Prison, claiming that he is being housed in the “isolation block” of the prison, despite recommendations that he be reintegrated into the jail’s general population.

Dumbrell claims his ongoing isolation is hampering his rehabilitation, and contends that he does not have the same access to services as prisoners in the jail’s general population. As a result, his ability to obtain parole is hampered, he claims.

On Monday, Judge Mary Rose Gearty granted permission to Bernard Condon, barrister for Dumbrell instructed by Phoenix Law, to pursue the judicial review proceedings on his client’s behalf.

Dumbrell is seeking various court orders, including an order directing the prison to reintegrate him into the general prison population.

According to Dumbrell’s court papers, a parole board in 2019 recommended that the prisoner be facilitated with a “phased plan of reintegration” back into the mainstream prison population.

In 2024, a probation report recommended Dumbrell be moved to the general prison population to “allow him to progress with his attempts to demonstrate rehabilitation and ready himself for reintegration with society”.

Dumbrell has not been issued with a P19 disciplinary sanction since February 2019.

Despite these facts, Dumbrell says he has been effectively kept on a restricted regime in the jail’s “isolation block”.

According to Dumbrell’s documents, prison authorities say the jail’s Block A, where Dumbrell is housed, is not an “isolation block”.

They say Dumbrell is free to associate with other prisoners on that block and that he has access to the same services as other prisoners.

While Dumbrell accepts that he can mix with prisoners on his wing, he contends that only two to three other prisoners are housed within the wing. At times, he is the only prisoner there, he says.

In an affidavit, Dumbrell says: “It is my strong desire to be released and [to] be able to reintegrate into society and live a normal life. At the moment, I am frustrated and upset that I cannot prove myself to the parole board and show them my ability to interact with others in a positive manner. I feel stuck.

“I have done everything asked of me and cannot go any further until the prison service allows me to take this next step and reintegrate back into the main prison population,” he adds.

The case returns in May.