Courts / Armagh / Report

Double murderer tells judge that jury "got it wrong"

Date
2018-10-02

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
NEWRY

County
Armagh

Summary

In a Central Criminal Court hearing on 2 October 2018, 36‑year‑old Jason O'Driscoll was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of 31‑year‑old Anthony Burnett and 25‑year‑old Joseph Redmond. The jury had convicted him on circumstantial evidence after a trial that lasted more than seven hours. O'Driscoll, who had been arrested in June 2016, told the judge that the jury had "got it wrong" and insisted he was innocent. The judge, Michael White, imposed the mandatory life sentence on each count, back‑dated to the date of O'Driscoll's arrest. Victim impact statements were read by the prosecution, describing the loss and devastation felt by the families of Burnett and Redmond. The judge refused a certificate of leave to appeal and the court ended the hearing without further commentary. The case was closed with O'Driscoll being led away to begin his life sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Double murderer tells judge that jury "got it wrong". Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty

When:

March 7th, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
June 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
June 25th Hearing Or Sentence
2018-10-02 Publication

Case subjects

Jason O'Driscoll

Background Person

Finding: Found guilty

Outcome: Found guilty; Our lives will never be the same again," she wrote. "We will love and miss him until the day our hearts stop beating." Mr Redmond's mother, Pauline Doran, wrote that her eldest son had been brutally murdered in a most violent manner 'for being in the wrong place at the wrong time'. "My life will never return to normal after the total devastation," she wrote. "There are days that I don't feel able to get out of bed from utter emptiness at Joey's loss." She said that no sentence imposed on the perpetrator would restore peace to her family. "I will continue to mourn my son until the day I die," s He then imposed the mandatory life sentence on each count, backdated to June 2016 when O'Driscoll was taken into custody.