The Court of Appeal has upheld Martin Kelly’s conviction for the murder of Andrew Burns and dismissed his appeal. In a judgment delivered on 21 December 2016, the court rejected challenges concerning Kelly’s arrest, statements admitted at trial, joint enterprise and the adequacy of the trial court’s reasons.
Kelly was convicted in the Special Criminal Court on 1 December 2011 of murdering Burns at Doneyloop, County Donegal, on 12 February 2008. The prosecution case was that Kelly brought Burns to a church car park where three associates were waiting. Burns was shot twice in the back. Kelly admitted bringing him to the location but said he thought the plan was to “knee-cap” him, not kill him.
Kelly argued that the Gardaí had unlawfully stopped his car and arrested him, making his detention and resulting statements unlawful. The appeal court said the three Garda members in the patrol car acted together in deciding to stop the vehicle. It concluded that the trial court was entitled to find the stop and arrest lawful, and dismissed that ground of appeal.
The court also rejected Kelly’s challenge to statements he made during interviews in Letterkenny and a later interview in Ballymena. Kelly alleged that Gardaí threatened him and offered money and witness protection in exchange for a statement. Garda witnesses denied those claims. The Special Criminal Court, after viewing the recorded interviews and hearing evidence, found the alleged threats and inducements had not been made and that the statements were voluntary and admissible. The appeal court said those disputed factual findings were supported by credible evidence and declined to overturn them.
On the murder conviction, Kelly argued that the gunman’s deliberate killing went beyond the punishment shooting he said he had contemplated. The Court of Appeal held that Irish law treats an intention to cause serious injury as sufficient for murder where death results. It found the trial court had correctly concluded that Kelly’s role in bringing Burns to be shot with a firearm, with the intention of causing serious injury, supported the murder conviction. The court did not accept that the difference between the contemplated knee-capping and the fatal shooting absolved him of responsibility.
The appeal court also rejected Kelly’s contention that the trial court had failed to give adequate reasons. It concluded that the basis for the trial court’s decisions on the issues raised was clear. The conviction stands and the appeal is dismissed.