A mentally ill prisoner who strangled his cellmate has been jailed for 10 years for what a judge described as a "savage" attack.
Michael Connolly, 55, of no fixed abode, scalded Mark Lawlor with hot water using a borrowed kettle from a next-door cell before strangling him. He was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in August. The attack took place in Cloverhill Prison on November 22, 2019, into the early hours of November 23.
Connolly had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Lawlor by reason of insanity. The jury had heard that Connolly, who is originally from Dublin but moved to Louth, had delusional beliefs, including that prisoners were in league with prison officers in "a homosexual conspiracy".