Courts / Dublin / Report

'Admirable speed and agility' of prisoner who escaped for months

Summary

Michael Power, aged 25, was serving an eight‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence for a serious assault when he escaped from St James's Hospital on 20 March 2019. While escorted by three prison officers for treatment of an abscess on his jaw, he slipped his handcuffs, ran, and jumped a wall of a nearby housing estate. He was not located until the following July. Power pleaded guilty to escaping lawful custody. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, his barrister argued that morphine given for pain had impaired his judgment, but Judge Martin Nolan noted that Power had shown "admirable speed, dexterity and agility" while on morphine and had taken advantage of the officers' kind behaviour. The judge sentenced him to an additional six months in prison, consecutive to his existing term.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Admirable speed and agility' of prisoner who escaped for months. Charges or matters: escaping lawful custody at St James's Hospital on March 20, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• March 20, 2019 Other
• October 2017 Other
• 2020-07-15 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report