Final two-and-a-half years of Keith Hall’s sentence suspended on appeal

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

The Court of Appeal quashed Keith Hall’s manslaughter sentence and reimposed 20 years, suspending the final two-and-a-half years, on 21 January 2016. The proceedings were reported on 21 January 2016.

Hall had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the manslaughter plea at the Central Criminal Court. Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the original 20-year prison sentence on 31 July 2013.

Melanie McCarthy McNamara, 16, was fatally shot while sitting with two others in a car in Tallaght on 8 February 2012. The judgment said Hall had no direct involvement in the shooting itself, but provided substantial assistance before and afterwards. Earlier that evening, he had agreed with others to throw a rock at a house to draw people outside so they could be shot. Hall acknowledged knowing that those people were to be shot when they emerged. The judgment described his involvement as substantial and said he was fortunate to have avoided a murder trial.

Delivering the appeal judgment, Mr Justice Alan Mahon said the original judge had acknowledged Hall’s guilty plea, but the allowance made for it could not be determined. The appeal court doubted that the plea had received sufficient weight. It warranted greater recognition, alongside a modest additional allowance for Hall’s drug addiction and dysfunctional background. Rehabilitation also deserved more consideration. The judgment identified imprisonment without access to drugs as an opportunity to overcome addiction, while strong family support and genuine remorse indicated some prospect of rehabilitation. Mr Justice Alan Mahon said failing to explain the allowance for mitigating factors departed from best practice.