Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS HAVE been launched by the Irish Prison Service, gardaí and the Inspector of Prisons after a man was found dead in his cell in Cloverhill Prison this morning.
The 39-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell at around 6am.
A spokesperson for the prison service confirmed the death and said it has launched an investigation. Foul play is not suspected.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
May he Rest In Peace
@Gillian Weir Scully: That’s a silly thing to say right now.
Thoughts go out to his innocent family and friends
As someone who has co-operated with employment schemes for long term unemployed, unskilled, & largely poorly educated, sometimes illiterate, males, I am not surprised that a minority become embroiled in predatory, criminal activity. What educated & self supporting society describes as anti social, sometimes criminal, is not defined as such by people outside the mainstream, who exist in a sub society of inadequate dependency & social support, which will never maintain a rational social order. A needs must existence.
The missing link is an effective educational & social training upbringing, & my question is why we hav’nt managed to achieve that in nearly one century of a “republic”. Can our educationalists explain this?
@William Kelly: I have known some well educated criminals that have come from stable home environments. What drove them to crime? Greed in some cases, the lure of they deemed easy money in large amounts relatively quickly, in other cases it was hatred due to some slight or perceived injustice done to them (real or imagined) others were simply nasty pieces of work for whom violence and domination of others gave them pleasure.
@Mick Jordan: Mick, genuine question, do you know at an estimate how many prisoners you have dealt with that have successfully rehabilitated and in these cases what seems to be the trick?
@Mick Murphy: Rehabilitation in general is rather poor. If I was to say 1% of all the Prisoners I have dealt with have left the criminal life completely behind, I would say I was being optimistic. We can have every course, class and training opportunity available for inmates to take up, but if they don’t wish to grasp them and choose to change their own ways then we cannot force them. Like the saying goes “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
@Mick Jordan: that’s a very telling stat Mick. And I’d take it from you ahead of any red sea poll statistic as you are there on the front line dealing with it as a 1st hand witness. This then leads us to the question of how to get the proverbial horse to drink. I have looked at the Nordic models and they seem to have made a whole lot more progress than what we have here. Although nobody wants to be a bleeding heart and vengeance is our 1st natural instinct surely society as a whole can benefit by reducing recidivist crime. Someone put up a link here before to it where a governor from a new York prison went to a couple of Norwegian ones. Was very enlightening. Followed it on for a few episodes and it covered armed policing too
@Mick Murphy: The Nordic model works only because of the way Nordic society is structured. But trying to implement that system here I fear would just be an expensive failure. Our societal structure is as different to it’s Nordic counterpart as an Orange is to a Lemon. We have yet to discover a model that would fit our societal structure.
@William Kelly: simple parents aren’t held responsible for there kids upbringing
@Adrian: that’s probably very true to a point Adrian. I’m sure there’s exceptions to the rule but your point is made well by and large.
@Mick Jordan: could be true Mick. You’d know better than I. But that being the case a lot of the money allotted to the prison service should be relocated to trying to find a structure that works with our society and I don’t mean committees of learned judges and do gooder agencies. Should take into account the people who actually work there and can see the real problems as they exist on the ground with a mix of the academic type maybe. Keeping the little mans voice down to make these guys feel more self important does not serve the Irish people in the best way. I’m also sure some of these lads in and out all the time would love an opportunity to get away from it if it was practically possible for them.
have your say