Commuted Death Sentences
From 1923 to 1964, 40 death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment; three condemned were found insane, and three died awaiting execution. Mamie Cadden was sentenced to be hanged in 1957 for felony murder after performing an illegal abortion on a woman who died; the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Death sentences were passed on 11 people after the 1964 Act, for 5 different incidents involving the capital murder of a total of 6 Gardaí (police). All were imposed by the Special Criminal Court. The murders of several other gardaí, and of British ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs in 1976, might also have constituted capital crimes had any prosecution been brought. Of the 11 sentenced to death, 2 had the conviction for capital murder quashed on appeal, and were convicted instead of ordinary murder. The death sentences of the other 9 were commuted by the President on the advice of the government, to 40 years' imprisonment without parole. One conviction was overturned in 1995. Four convicts were released in 1998 under the amnesty of political prisoners under the Good Friday Agreement. The remaining four protested that they were also eligible for the amnesty, but remained in prison as of 2009.
The 40-year sentences were controversial, both because they had no statutory basis, and because they were not handed down by a judge. The Court of Criminal Appeal has upheld the sentences as the extra-judicial procedure is in step with the Irish Constitution's provision for commuting sentences. An argument in favour of the exceptional sentences is that members of the Garda Síochána (police) are usually unarmed when on duty, and so an exceptional deterrent is needed to protect them from being murdered.
| Date of crime | Convicted | Victims | Context | Location | Date sentence passed | Date scheduled for execution | Date sentence commuted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-09-11 | Marie and Noel Murray | Michael J. Reynolds | Shot after a robbery of the Bank of Ireland in Killester | Saint Anne's Park, Dublin | 1976-06-09 | 1976-12-09 | Black Cross anarchists. Conviction quashed as the Garda was off duty and not in uniform; life sentence imposed. Released after serving 15 years. | |
| 1980-07-07 | Paddy McCann, Colm O'Shea (, Peter Pringle) | Henry Byrne, John Morley | Shot after a robbery of the Bank of Ireland in Ballaghaderreen | Near Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon | 1980-11-27 | 1980-12-19 | 1981-05-27 | Pringle's conviction was overturned in 1995. McCann and O'Shea, members of Saor Éire, were still in jail in 2009. |
| 1980-10-13 | Peter Rogers | Seamus Quaid | Shot while inspecting a van containing explosives, after a robbery in Callan | Ballyconnick, near Cleariestown, County Wexford | 1981-03-11 | 1981-07-01 | Provisional IRA member. Released in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. | |
| 1984-08-10 | Thomas Eccles, Patrick McPhillips and Brian McShane | Frank Hand | Shot at a post office raid | Drumree, Co Meath | 1985-03-28 | 1986-02-22 | Provisional IRA members. Released in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. | |
| 1985-06-27 | Noel Callan and Michael McHugh | Patrick Morrissey | Robbery of Ardee labour exchange | Collon, County Louth | 1985-12-03 | 1985-12-20 (McHugh)
|
INLA members. Still in jail in 2011. Callan's sentence was not commuted till after the failure of an appeal against his conviction. In 2011, his claim to be eligible for remission was rejected by the High Court. |
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In Ireland
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