Courts / Dublin / Report

Murder accused should be allowed renege on guilty plea because of panic attacks, judge told

Date
2016-03-07

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a 2016 case, a 28‑year‑old accused of murdering Thomas Horan, a 63‑year‑old man, sought to withdraw a guilty plea he had entered after suffering panic attacks. The accused, Kenneth Cummins, had initially pleaded not guilty, then changed to guilty four weeks into his trial at the Central Criminal Court. His sister, Sabrina Cummins, received a life sentence a week later. Mr Cummins returned to court with an application to retract his guilty plea, arguing that the plea should have been taken the next morning due to his mental state. His barrister, Pauline Walley SC, highlighted his panic attacks, stress, and lack of medical care, noting that the judge had already informed the jury of the plea change. A forensic psychiatrist testified that Cummins had experienced panic attacks from the first day of trial and had a history of a deprived childhood. The hearing was scheduled to continue the following week.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Murder accused should be allowed renege on guilty plea because of panic attacks, judge told. Charges or matters: murdering Thomas Horan (63) at Cambridge Court, Ringsend on January 6, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 6, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
2016-03-07 Publication

Why: A judge has been told that he should not have allowed a murder accused to change his plea from not guilty to guilty because he was suffering from panic attacks at the time. CNI source report