ONE OF MELANIE McCarthy McNamara’s killers will spend most of his life sentence in some form of protective custody, TheJournal.ie has discovered.
Keith Hall, who is serving 18 years for the manslaughter of the Tallaght teenager, has been targeted a number of times by fellow inmates.
There has been a number of attempts to bring Hall back into the regular prison fold, but guards in Wheatfield Prison believe his life would be put at risk.
Hall’s co-convicted Daniel McDonnell is currently in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) in Dundrum, south Dublin, after he attempted to take his own life earlier this year.
McDonnell has become increasingly agitated after his case against the State for keeping him in solitary was rejected.
He is expected to remain in the CMH until his behaviour changes.
Prison sources have said McDonnell is suffering from a serious psychological illness and has has been paranoid in prison as it is thought that money has been offered in exchange for harming him.
Hall is in the same situation.
There is a significant bounty for anyone who can kill him while he is in prison.
A senior prison source told TheJournal.ie how Hall has to be separated due to the numerous attempts on his life since he was imprisoned.
Confinement
A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said while they cannot speak about individual prisoners, they take the safety of the prisoners very seriously and give prisoners as much time out of their cells as they can.
He told TheJournal.ie:
The Irish Prison Service is obliged to ensure the safety of all prisoners.
“There is a small cohort of prisoners who, for various reasons, need to be isolated for their own safety or for the safety of others.
“The prison service does that through restricted regime and movement. Every effort is made to transfer prisoners around the system. For those prisoners who are on 23 hour lock up for long periods, individual plans are put in place to make sure they get maximum amount of services and time out of their cells.
The safety of prisoners is paramount.
Speaking of Ireland’s current prison regime, UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, said: “Clearly the figures show Ireland has violated the emerging standard that we have established in terms of how long people should be spending in solitary confinement.
“The Irish Government should be aware that this issue will be raised when the UN committee hears evidence. So they should come prepared to say how they are dealing with this problem.”
He also said that existing solitary confinement regimes in Ireland “constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and perhaps, depending on the gravity of their suffering – even torture.”
The Irish Penal Reform Trust acting director Fiona Ní Chinnéide told of the dangers of putting a prisoner into solitary for over 15 days.
She said: “There was a report by the UN which found that prisoners who spend over 15 days in solitary confinement can suffer irreparable damage.
“Ideally, we wouldn’t want to see anyone locked up for that period of time. Solitary confinement breeds paranoia and makes it more difficult for a prisoner to rejoin the general population.
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