Prison watchdog calls for improved checks after death of prisoner mistakenly released from custody

A prison officer notified gardaí that the prisoner was unlawfully at large when he realised his mistake, about 30 minutes after the prisoner had been released. 

The State’s prison watchdog has called on the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to make sure all documentation on prisoners appearing in court is properly checked following the death of an inmate two days after he was mistakenly released from custody at Roscommon Courthouse.

A report by then-acting Inspector of Prisons, Helen Casey, makes a series of recommendations to the IPS about escorting prisoners to court as a result of an examination into the background of the error and subsequent death of the unnamed prisoner on February 1, 2018 at a house in Northern Ireland.