The Court of Appeal has increased Daniel Murray’s sentence for manslaughter and arson from nine years to 11 years, suspending the final 18 months for 18 months on the same conditions imposed by the Central Criminal Court.
The court allowed an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, which permits review of a sentence imposed on conviction on indictment if it is considered unduly lenient. The appeal concerned sentences imposed by the Central Criminal Court on 25 January 2022, after Murray pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson. The original nine-year sentences were concurrent, backdated to 3 August 2021, with the final 18 months suspended.
The offences arose from a fire at a house in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, in the early hours of 2 August 2018. Murray’s uncle, Oliver Murray, died from inhalation of smoke and fire gases. In interviews, Daniel Murray admitted setting fire to a sheet in his uncle’s house. He said he meant to frighten his uncle and did not intend to kill him. The Court of Appeal described the offending as very serious and reckless.
The DPP argued that the sentencing judge had set too low a starting sentence and had allowed excessive mitigation. The appeal court found that the judge was entitled to allow a 25 per cent reduction for mitigation, including the guilty pleas, remorse and efforts to address addiction. It also upheld the decision to suspend part of the sentence to encourage continued rehabilitation.
However, the appeal court concluded that a 12-year headline sentence was too low for offending at the high end of the high-culpability category for manslaughter. It considered that a starting point of 14 or 15 years was appropriate. The court did not classify the case among the “worst cases” identified in earlier sentencing guidance, describing it as a borderline case between categories.
The court quashed the original sentences and resentenced Murray to 15 years, reduced by four years for mitigation. It suspended the final 18 months for 18 months on the same conditions as the lower court, including probation supervision and abstinence from alcohol and unprescribed medication. The net sentence is 11 years’ imprisonment.