Courts / Dublin / Report
Teen murderer loses appeal against life with review sentence
Summary
In a Court of Appeal hearing, a 17‑year‑old who pleaded guilty to the murder of Glen "Ossie" Osborne was denied an appeal against his life sentence with a review after ten years. The appeal argued that the sentencing judge had not sufficiently considered the defendant's remorse, early guilty plea and rehabilitation efforts, and that another teenager who committed a planned, unprovoked murder without remorse received the same sentence. The Court of Appeal found no error in principle, noting that the bringing of a knife to the scene was a significant aggravating factor and that the judge had given "significant credit" for the defendant's early plea and remorse. The judge had ordered periodic reports for a review after ten years, and the appeal was dismissed. The defendant remains in custody awaiting that review. The unnamed 17-year-old was found guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Teen murderer loses appeal against life with review sentence. Charges or matters: a planned and unprovoked murder and who showed no remorse, received the same sentence as his client. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- April 15 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2021-04-28 Publication
Why: James Dwyer SC, for the 17-year-old who cannot be named because he is a minor, had argued before the three-judge Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, did not give enough consideration to his client's remorse, his early guilty plea and his efforts at rehabilitation. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: a planned and unprovoked murder and who showed no remorse, received the same sentence as his client (Proven)
Plea: Guilty
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; Mr Justice Woulfe found that while the previous case involving a teenager who committed murder and showed no remorse is a "relevant comparator", he said the outcome in that case "cannot necessarily be decisive in a later case." He said the sentence imposed by Mr Justice McDermott was "within the range of sentence available to the sentencing judge, given the serious offending involved." While another judge might have imposed a different sentence, Mr Justice Woulfe said that for the Court of Appeal to intervene they would need to be convinced that the sentence imposed was outside the available r Last December, Mr Justice Paul McDermott sentenced the youth to life imprisonment but ordered that the sentence be reviewed by a judge of the Central Criminal Court after he has spent ten years in custody.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
- Ballybough House
- Ken Hoare of Mountjoy Garda Station
- Mountjoy
- his way to Mountjoy Garda Station
Topics
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