Courts / Galway / Report

Court quashes conviction of man jailed for brandishing meat cleaver at hospital

Summary

A man's conviction for threatening to kill a relative whilst brandishing a meat cleaver at University College Hospital Galway has been quashed by the Court of Appeal. Aaron Ward (32), from Tuam, Co Galway, was found guilty following a two-day trial at Galway Circuit Criminal Court and sentenced to six years imprisonment in May 2017. The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction, finding the trial judge failed to properly engage with statutory requirements under Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 when admitting witness statements. The three complainants had retracted their initial statements to gardaí, citing intoxication and medication at the time they were made. Mr Justice Alan Mahon noted these statements were crucial to the prosecution case and should have been assessed strictly against legal requirements. The judge's rulings made insufficient reference to reliability, prejudice, and oath administration. Ward has been admitted to bail pending further Court of Appeal proceedings next week to determine whether a retrial is appropriate. Aaron Ward pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Court quashes conviction of man jailed for brandishing meat cleaver at hospital. Charges or matters: threatening to kill or cause serious harm and production of a meat cleaver at the Accident and Emergency Department of University College Galway on February 8, 2015. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• February 8, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 31, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2018-05-31 Publication

Why: When called to give evidence on the first day of the trial, Charlie Ward told the court: "I don't want to proceed with anything… I don't want to give evidence because at the time I was on medication and, to be honest, I shouldn't have said the things that I said, because I didn't know what I was saying. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

Related court reports

• Appearance of tips machine in cafe that pulled in €5k unexplained, tribunal notes
• Judge speaks out about toxic masculinity while jailing young man for rape
• 'You ruined my life,' rape victim tells older brother
• Retired Franciscan brother jailed for 11 years for raping boy
• Lab had to decontaminate first aid room after technician found to have been napping, wearing lead-exposed work gear, tribunal told
• Lithuanian man admits engaging in terrorist plot to attack mosque

Read the original CNI report