Courts / Dublin / Report

Gail O'Rorke acquitted of attempting to assist the suicide of her friend

Summary

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a jury has acquitted Gail O'Rorke of attempting to assist the suicide of her friend. The jury returned not guilty verdicts after an eight-day trial and seven hours of deliberation. Ms O'Rorke, a taxi driver from Tallaght with connections to Monaghan, had faced charges of attempting to help Bernadette Forde travel to a euthanasia clinic in Switzerland. Ms Forde, who suffered from severe multiple sclerosis, died in June 2011. Prior to the jury's decision, the trial judge had directed not guilty verdicts on two additional charges relating to the procurement of barbiturates and funeral arrangements. This was the first prosecution under the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993, which criminalises assisting another person's suicide. The judge commended the jury for their careful consideration of what he described as a difficult case.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gail O'Rorke acquitted of attempting to assist the suicide of her friend. Charges or matters: attempting to aid and abet the suicide of Ms Forde by means of attempting to arrange travel to Zurich for such purpose between March 10 and April 20, 2011. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• March 10 Hearing Or Sentence
• April 20, 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 5, 2011 Other
• June 6, 2011 Other
• June 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 4 Other
• 2015-04-28 Publication

Why: Judge McCartan told jurors that he was ordering not guilty verdicts in the final two charges because he agreed with the defence's argument that the prosecution has not produced enough evidence for the counts to go before a jury. Prosecution account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report