Ian Harman given ten years with two suspended for Cavan manslaughter

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

Ian Harman received a ten-year prison term, with the final two years suspended, from Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan at the Central Criminal Court on 13 October 2014.

The proceedings were reported on 13 October 2014. Michael Treanor, aged 82, was killed on 27 June 2011 in the psychiatric unit at Cavan General Hospital in Lisdarn, Co Cavan.

Harman’s re-arraignment occurred during July 2014, when his Central Criminal Court trial reached its eighth day. He pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter. His original plea had also been not guilty to murder.

Prosecuting counsel Paddy McCarthy SC said the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the plea under Section 6 of the Criminal Law Insanity Act. That provision permits a manslaughter finding instead of murder on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mr Treanor had dementia. Harman entered the unit voluntarily on 20 June 2011 following a suicide attempt. The court heard that Harman climbed onto Mr Treanor’s bed on 27 June 2011 and killed him using a pillow and belt.

The judge backdated the term to 28 June 2011, allowing for custody already served. The orders also required Harman to co-operate with an integrated sentence management programme when back in prison and undergo post-release supervision for two years.

In mitigation, the judge took account of Harman’s remorse and guilty plea, his acknowledgement at the trial’s outset that he had killed Mr Treanor, and his co-operation with psychiatrists and the garda investigation. The judge also recognised Harman’s mental disorder when the killing occurred and emphasised the need to protect the public.