Court of Appeal increases Joseph Hillen’s sentence for Martin Mulligan’s manslaughter

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

The Court of Appeal found Joseph Hillen’s manslaughter sentence for the killing of taxi driver Martin Mulligan unduly lenient and resentenced him to nine years in prison, with the final year suspended. The court said the offence fell within the high culpability category, though not the worst category of manslaughter cases.

The court set a 12-year headline sentence, then reduced it to nine years to account for mitigating factors. It suspended the final year in recognition of the disappointment of having a sentence extended following a Director of Public Prosecutions appeal. Hillen had originally received a seven-year sentence with the final year suspended.

The judges said Mulligan had been left seriously injured on a remote road without a way to summon help, and described the offence as desperately serious and marked by shocking callousness. The appeal followed the jury’s manslaughter verdict; the sentencing judge had said it indicated the jury accepted Hillen believed he was acting in self-defence but used excessive force.