Teen’s killer challenges 23-hour prison lock-up regime

The man serving a life sentence for murdering teenager Melanie McCarthy McNamara has brought a High Court challenge against the 23-hour per day lock up regime he is subjected to at Wheatfield Prison.

The action has been brought by Daniel McDonnell, aged 20, who the prison authorities claim is being kept apart from the rest of the prison population for his own safety.

However, McDonnell’s lawyers have argued before the High Court that the decision to effectively keep him in his cell at Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison, where he has been incarcerated since February 2014, for 23 hours a day is disproportionate.