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Dublin man jailed for his role in "mindless and savage" attack has sentence cut by two years on appeal

Summary

In March 2012, Edward Byrne (23), his cousin Martin Morgan (23), and Stephen Byrne (20) attacked Polish worker Lukasz Rzeszutko in Coolock, killing him. The men pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. A jury convicted Morgan of murder; he received life imprisonment. Byrne was sentenced to 12 years, Stephen Byrne to nine years with three suspended. Byrne appealed the severity of his sentence. The Court of Appeal found the sentencing judge had erred by rejecting evidence from two witnesses and had not adequately considered mitigating factors such as Byrne's guilty plea, lesser role, and rehabilitation efforts. The court reduced Byrne's sentence to 10 years. Byrne and Morgan had earlier lost appeals against conviction on grounds of defective search warrants and joint enterprise issues, which the Court of Appeal dismissed. The final judgment upheld the convictions but adjusted Byrne's custodial term.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Dublin man jailed for his role in "mindless and savage" attack has sentence cut by two years on appeal. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• March 2012 Incident
• October 2, 2010 Incident
• March 30, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2015-03-09 Publication

Why: The Court of Appeal agreed the judge had erred in rejecting their evidence because of an adverse view he had formed of their credibility on the basis of their testimony and cross-examination at the trial of Martin Morgan. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report