Courts / Clare / Report

1-year sentence for addict who stabbed doctor in back three times too lenient, court finds

Date
2022-02-15

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Ennis

County
Clare

Summary

In a Court of Appeal hearing on 15 February 2022, a senior judge warned Stephen Ennis, 32, that the "ball was in his court" if he wished to avoid a prison term after a one‑year sentence was quashed. Ennis had stabbed a hospital doctor three times in the back with a needle taken from his own arm during the first wave of the pandemic in St James' Hospital, Dublin. The doctor, a foreign national who had moved to Ireland to train as an emergency medicine consultant, was left "shattered" and later gave up that career. Ennis had 72 prior convictions, including violent disorder, drug possession, knife possession, burglary and begging. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the original sentence, arguing it was unduly lenient, while Ennis' counsel argued he was a drug‑addicted, mentally detached offender who had been drug‑free for six months. Stephen Ennis pleaded guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 1-year sentence for addict who stabbed doctor in back three times too lenient, court finds. Charges or matters: assaulting a person providing medical care in St James' Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7, 2020. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

March 7, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
October 2020 Incident
May 12 Hearing Or Sentence
2022-02-15 Publication

Case subjects

Stephen Ennis

Defendant

Charges: assaulting a person providing medical care in St James' Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7, 2020 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Ms Justice Kennedy, who was also sitting with Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham, told Ennis he would be re-sentenced in three months' time after the court considered background reports. Ennis (32), of Cashel Road, Crumlin, Dublin, was jailed for one year after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a person providing medical care in St James' Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7, 2020.