The Court of Appeal quashed two concurrent four-year sentences imposed on Brian Hynes for assault causing harm and producing a bayonet, then re-sentenced him to four years on each count, with the final two years and six months suspended.
In a judgment delivered on 7 April 2016, the court found that the original sentences did not adequately reflect the substantial mitigating circumstances. It also found that the sentencing judge had improperly considered likely remission, which is a matter for the executive.
Hynes had pleaded guilty to offences arising from an incident on 16 October 2010. The prosecution case was that, after his daughter received an abusive and implicitly threatening phone call from her partner, Hynes took a bayonet from his home and went to the couple’s nearby house. He stabbed the injured party six times in the left leg. The injured party suffered blood loss, scarring and numbness, and reported psychological effects. The Court of Appeal said it was unsafe to attribute a reported suicide attempt directly to the assault, given the absence of a psychiatric report and other stressors.
The original sentences were imposed by Naas Circuit Criminal Court in June 2012. Each count carried a four-year term, with the final 18 months suspended, and the terms ran concurrently. The Court of Appeal agreed that four years was an appropriate headline sentence for each offence, given the sustained attack, the weapon and its use. It rejected the argument that those circumstances could not aggravate the offences.
But the appeal court said the case involved significant provocation against a background of domestic violence affecting Hynes’s daughter, as well as his good character, early guilty plea, cooperation and remorse. It noted psychological evidence that he was not ordinarily aggressive and that he had poor coping resources amid personal adversity. The court described the incident as out of character and found the original 37.5 per cent discount for mitigation inadequate.
The court therefore set aside the original sentences and re-sentenced Hynes after considering additional material, including a psychiatric report dated 22 January 2016. It imposed four years on each count, concurrently, suspending the final two years and six months of each term. The judgment said this structure reflected the seriousness of the offences while recognising mitigation and encouraging continued rehabilitation.