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Criminal accused of attempting to persuade garda murder trial witness not to give evidence was 'trying to secure justice', defence claim
Summary
Dean Byrne, 30, of Cabra Park, Phibsborough, Dublin, is on trial in the Special Criminal Court for conspiring with Aaron Brady in Mountjoy Prison to persuade prosecution witness Daniel Cahill not to give evidence at Brady's murder trial. Byrne's defence, led by Padraig Dwyer SC, argues that Byrne genuinely believed Cahill would perjure himself and that any attempt to persuade Cahill was an attempt to secure justice, not to pervert it. Dwyer contends that the indictment is unclear and lacks evidence of wrongdoing, noting that Byrne and Brady were in prison while Cahill was in New York, making persuasion unlikely. Prosecution counsel Lorcan Staines SC counters that any interference by a private citizen, even with a benign motive, is an intentional act that interferes with public justice.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Criminal accused of attempting to persuade garda murder trial witness not to give evidence was 'trying to secure justice', defence claim. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted
When:
- April 8, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 22, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- August 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 25, 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2024-05-01 Publication
Why: Prosecution counsel, Lorcan Staines SC, said that any interference in the justice process by a private citizen, even where the motive is benign, is an intentional act which interferes with the course of public justice. Prosecution account reported by CNI
Case subjects
Background Person
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted
Defendant
Outcome: Mr Staines said there is evidence that Mr Byrne is serving a long prison sentence and that he is a "resourceful" prisoner capable of obtaining drugs and mobile phones for himself and other people. "A jury is entitled to conclude that Dean Byrne was just the sort of inmate who would be recruited by Aaron Brady to engage in a criminal enterprise," he said.
Places mentioned
- Special Criminal Court
- Cabra Park
- Dublin
- New Road
- Crossmaglen
- Armagh
- Mountjoy
- Mountjoy Prison
Topics
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