Court of Appeal dismisses Michael Murray’s appeal against 35-year term

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

The Court of Appeal has dismissed Michael Murray’s appeal against the sentences that leave him serving an aggregate 35 years in prison. The court said the offences were at the highest level of gravity and the sentences were proportionate.

Murray appealed the 16-year aggregate sentence imposed for offences including death threats against two barristers who prosecuted his rape case, and harassment of the woman he was convicted of raping. His 16-year term was ordered to begin after a separate 19-year sentence.

The appeal court found that the sentencing judge had applied the totality principle, which requires an overall sentence to be proportionate. It cited aggravating factors, including the re-victimisation of the woman and attacks on the lawyers involved in the earlier case, and found no mitigating factors.