An inmate who threatened to kill a female prison officer has been jailed for two and a half years. Damien Clarke, of North Strand, Drogheda, Co. Louth, was on remand at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin when he made the threat last year.
Damien Clarke has a long criminal record with 44 previous convictions for theft, public order offences and assault causing harm. On the third of January last year, a female officer was assisting with the unlocking of cells so prisoners could go for breakfast.
While doing so, Clarke called her a tramp and later told her he was going to "slice her." Given his previous hostility towards her, she felt he was capable of carrying out the threat.
He later threatened to assault a male colleague of hers and used his thumb and finger to make a gun gesture towards him. When this prison officer asked him what he meant by that, Clarke replied, "You know what it means. You’ll see at your house."
Before sentencing him for two-and-half years, the judge paid tribute to the important work of prison officers and described threats to them as serious offences.
