2020-09-08
'Trusted' IRA man loses appeal against sentence
Stage: Appeal
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; Lawyers for Hawthorn, of Ballintyre Downs, Ballinteer, Dublin 16, claimed the headline sentence imposed on him by the Special Criminal Court in October 2018 was excessive and one which was usually reserved for people involved in a leadership role in an illegal organisation. Kerida Naidoo SC, for Hawthorn, today said the headline prison sentence of six and a half years imposed by the Special Criminal Court, which was reduced to five years when mitigating factors were taken into account, indicated the court believed his offence was at the upper end of the scale in terms of seriousness.