White (38) had epiphany in prison exercise yard
Wayne White (38) was on a cocktail of steroids and cocaine when he committed the offences over a six-week period.
A MAN who served a sentence for manslaughter in the 1990s recently had 'an epiphany' in the exercise yard of Mountjoy prison, Dundalk Circuit Court has heard.
Wayne White's barrister said his client had ' a moment of clarity' while in the yard and realised that he didn't want any more to be like those around him. White admitted charges of robbery and theft during a six-week drugfuelled crime spree in Drogheda in 2010/11.
During interviews with Gardai, White, who was given a nine year sentence at the Central Criminal Court in 1994 for manslaughter, apologised to all the victims of the robberies and thefts and said he was on a cocktail of cocaine and anabolic steroids. The court was told that White, a father-oftwo and grandfather of a ten-monthold, had 21 previous convictions.
White's barrister said his client, who had been in custody since January 16 2011, had made a contribution to society since his release from prison and had previously worked as a security guard and a barber. He had managed to beat a heroin addiction but had become hooked on steroids because an ongoing serious medical condition meant that he became ill quite often and felt he needed to ' bulk up' his body again.
He said White had a violent upbringing where he was subjected to beatings by his alcoholic father and had seen his mum being stabbed before his dad was put out of the family home. The issues that developed in White as a result of this childhood are being worked out in counselling.
The barrister said White's 'epiphany' came while in the exercise yard at Mountjoy prison where he saw 20 and 21-year-old men, who were like him when he was young - no respect and no responsibilities. White, the barrister said, didn't want to be like that any more and realises that he is a father and grandfather whose family love and support him.
Judge O'shea said the offences were serious and commended the bravery of the young man outside the Londis who had put himself in harm's way to try to stop White. He sentenced White to three-and-a-half years, backdated to when he went into custody, and refused leave to appeal.
