Naughton suffered a ‘shocking’ and ‘fragmented’ upbringing

Naughton suffered a ‘shocking’ and ‘fragmented’ upbringing


Shane Naughton, who was last week found guilty of stabbing fellow teen Henry Newham in Westport, resided in state care for 16 years.
His background has been described as ‘absolutely shocking’.
Born in Mayo, Mr Naughton (now 19) was in care for 16 years, until he turned 18.
During those 16 years, he went through 54 different placements, and was reported missing to gardaí on approximately 80 occasions.
A Probation Report, which was written for a court appearance in June 2013, revealed that his ‘deteriorating behaviour’ and the ‘escalation’ of his use of drugs and alcohol resulted in him being a ‘greater risk to the public at large’.
Mr Naughton’s senior counsel, Garnet Orange, told Judge Melanie Greally that he had an ‘absolutely shocking background’ and that repeated rejections and his difficult upbringing were factors in his behaviour.
Mr Orange told the court that although he found Mr Naughton to be an intelligent and clear-spoken young man, he suffered from ADHD and refused to take his medication.
When he was arrested for the stabbing of Mr Newham, he was interviewed on six occasions in connection with the incident, and during each interview he gave ‘no comment’ answers.
The court heard that Mr Naughton had a number of previous convictions, including the possession of a knife for which he received a nine-month suspended sentence in June 2013 – three months after he stabbed Henry Newham.
Following this, he went to Northern Ireland. In May 2014, he was convicted of common assault in Laganside Court in Belfast. In July 2014, he was extradited on foot of a European arrest warrant, and he has been in custody ever since.
During sentencing, Judge Greally noted Mr Naughton’s difficult and fragmented upbringing and said that responsibility for this did not fully lie at his door.

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