Court of Appeal cuts Michael Scott’s manslaughter sentence to four years and six months

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal reduced Michael Scott’s sentence for the gross-negligence manslaughter of his aunt, Chrissie Treacy, from six years to four years and six months. The court quashed the original sentence after finding that the trial judge’s eight-year headline sentence was an error, and backdated the replacement sentence to 12 June 2023. Scott was taken away to continue serving his sentence after the appeal.

The appeal judge said Scott’s negligence in reversing an agricultural teleporter outside Treacy’s home without keeping a proper lookout warranted a six-year headline sentence. The judge considered mitigating factors including Scott’s remorse, lack of previous convictions, work history, family circumstances and low risk of reoffending. The jury had found Scott not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter on the basis of gross negligence.