Courts / Ireland / Report
Court overturns suspended sentence for man who doused wife and children in petrol
Summary
A man who poured petrol on his wife and two children after setting fire to petrol spread in their home was jailed for a year by the Court of Appeal. He had earlier received a suspended sentence for threatening to damage property and for breaching a barring order issued by his wife six weeks before the St Patrick's Day attack. He pleaded guilty to the threat, to breaching the barring order, and to criminal damage for setting fire to a light at the house the next day. A Circuit Court judge had given him a wholly suspended 12‑month sentence for the attack, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal, noting the man's repeated breaches of the barring order and the aggravating circumstances.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Court overturns suspended sentence for man who doused wife and children in petrol. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- 2021-07-16 Publication
Why: Thomas Rice BL explained that the accused had moved out of the house but into an adjoining flat after receiving the barring order. CNI source report
Case subjects
Accused
Outcome: A man who doused petrol on his wife and her two children after setting light to petrol he had spread in their home, has been jailed for a year by the Court of Appeal. The sentences imposed deviated from the norm to such a degree that when looked at globally these sentences are unduly lenient." Jack Nicholas BL responded on behalf of the man, saying that a judge must be afforded a 'significant margin of appreciation' in the selection of a sentence. "It is respectfully submitted the learned sentencing judge kept a balance between the particular circumstances of the offending and the relevant personal circumstances of the respondent," he said. "It is submitted that the sentences as imposed were adequate and justifiable and fall within the permissible range." C
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- at the his local garda station
Topics
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