Prison officer awarded trial costs
A prison officer who was acquitted of making a false needle stick allegation has been awarded his trial costs.
Judge Patricia Ryan had directed a not guilty verdict at the end of Robert O’Neill’s trial last November after defence counsel, Mr Sean Gillane SC, submitted that the jury would have based their decision on “conjecture”.
Mr O’Neill (aged 44) with an address at North Circular Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to falsely claiming on May 5, 2006 that his hand was pricked by a syringe left on the palm reader at Mountjoy Prison the previous day.
Judge Ryan said she had carefully considered all the witness statements in the case, including that of a prosecution witness who had agreed under cross-examination that a needle may have been on the palm reading device when he used it minutes before Mr O’Neill.
Prison officer, Mr Alan Maher, had said in evidence that he noticed “nothing untoward” when he placed his palm inside the device but agreed with Mr Gillane that it could have been there.
