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.
The 36-year-old male, with an address in Dublin, had been serving an 18-month prison sentence and was due for release in July 2018.
He was brought to Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court on January 30, 2018 on further charges, where he was informed by counsel for the DPP that a nolle prosequi (no prosecution) was being entered on all three counts in the case.
Although the prisoner should have been returned to prison, an assistant chief prison officer in charge of escorting a group of ten inmates to the courthouse from Castlerea Prison directed that he should be released.
The inspector’s report said such an instruction was contrary to what was stated in documentation in the officer’s possession which clearly specified with a red stamp that the prisoner “must return” to prison.
It also noted the court return form for the prisoner, which stated the outcome of his court appearance “must be completed”, was blank and unsigned.
In statements to the inspector, the prison officer and a colleague claimed Judge Keenan Johnson had remarked that the prisoner was “free to go”.
However, a review of the recording of court proceedings found the judge had made no such comment.
The prison officer immediately notified gardaí that a prisoner was unlawfully at large when he realised his mistake about 30 minutes after the man had been released.
Gardaí were subsequently notified by the PSNI that the prisoner had collapsed and died in a house in Northern Ireland in the early hours of February 1, 2018.
Attempts to resuscitate him by paramedics were unsuccessful.
The report said the cause of the prisoner’s death was a matter for the Coroners Service for Northern Ireland.
The senior prison officer said there were errors in four out of ten forms in his possession for prisoners appearing at Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court that day.
He stated all the forms had a “must return” stamp which he knew was incorrect as some prisoners were on remand and could be released.
The prison officer also stated that he had received no formal training in relation to prisoner escorts.
The IPS said it accepted all ten recommendations made by the Inspector of Prisons including the requirement on a prisoner officer in charge of court appearances to ensure that all court forms were accurately completed and that prisoners were only released after all documentation was properly checked.
Ms Casey said consideration should also be given by the IPS to introducing a “double check” involving two prison staff.
The inspector said governance structures should be enhanced to ensure that IPS policies and operating procedures were known to all staff and implemented at all times.
She also questioned the appropriateness of a senior prison officer, who has oversight of a number of prisoner escorts, also performing the role of court officer.
The IPS said all the recommendations were either completed or due for completion by this autumn including a new standard operating procedure for the release of escorted prisoners from courtrooms.
It claimed it was a matter for individual prison governors to address issues relating to breaches by staff of operating procedures.
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