Prison a ‘powder keg’ for people with psychiatric problems

PRISON has been described by the Irish Penal Reform Trust as the worst possible place for a person with schizophrenia and a “powder keg” for people with psychiatric problems after a 25-year-old Dubliner, who suffers from schizoaffective disorder, was found guilty of the manslaughter of a fellow Mountjoy inmate.

Stephen Egan was found guilty on grounds of diminished responsibility of killing 21-year-old Gary Douche in a holding prison cell.

The jury at the Central Criminal Court accepted evidence that Stephen Egan, of Belcamp Crescent in Coolock, was suffering from a mental illness when he attacked Douche on August 1, 2006.