22nd December 2011
The death of a prisoner on suicide watch at Cloverhill Prison underlines the need for a prisons ombudsman, the Irish Penal Reform Trust reports Crime Correspondent Conor Lally in The Irish Times.
While investigations have been launched by both the Gardai and the Irish Prison Service, the lack of a system for independent investigation into deaths in prison custody in Ireland is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Liam Herrick outlined that where a death occurs in a Garda station, the case is immediately sent to the Garda Ombudsman for an independent investigation. However, this is not the case for prison deaths. IPRT has consistently called for the establishment of a system for independent investigations into deaths in prison, such as a prisons ombudsman.
Mr Rogers, who took his own life in a holding cell at Cloverhill Courthouse, was on remand at the prison having been charged with murder.
Read The Irish Times article in full.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.