Courts / Kildare / Report

Father's conviction for murder of infant son declared a miscarriage of justice

Summary

In September 2020 the Central Criminal Court declared the 2003 murder conviction of Yusif Ali Abdi a miscarriage of justice. Abdi had spent 16 years in prison before the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in February 2019 and ordered a retrial. The retrial found him not guilty by reason of insanity, after evidence that he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2013. The court granted Abdi leave to seek compensation from the State. The case involved the death of his 20‑month‑old son, Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali, who was found dead in the living room of their Clane apartment on the night of the killing. The retrial relied on psychiatric testimony that Abdi had been suffering from schizophrenia since 2001, a fact that had not been recognised at the original trial. The court's decision was based on the new diagnosis being a newly‑discovered fact that proved the original verdict was fundamentally wrong. Yusif Ali Abdi was acquitted.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Father's conviction for murder of infant son declared a miscarriage of justice. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Acquitted

When:

• February 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• August 1999 Hearing Or Sentence
• November 1999 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2020-09-02 Publication

Why: "There are only two outcomes of a jury trial in my opinion: conviction or acquittal," said Mr Justice Owens, who added that because the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity could not be appealed it was to be regarded as acquittal. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report