The Court of Appeal has dismissed Andrew McDonnell’s appeal against the severity of a nine-year prison sentence for assault causing serious harm, finding no error in the sentencing judge’s approach. The final year of the sentence was suspended subject to conditions, and the sentence was backdated to 24 April 2011.
The appeal concerned a sentence imposed on 31 July 2013 for an offence under section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. McDonnell argued that the sentence was excessive and disproportionate, particularly because, he said, the sentencing judge had not given enough weight to his medical condition and cognitive difficulties.
The Court of Appeal recounted that McDonnell and the injured party had been among a group drinking alcohol and taking cocaine at McDonnell’s apartment in Finglas on the night of 23 April 2011 and into the early hours of the next day. After an initial altercation, the group resumed drinking and taking cocaine. At about 3am, a further confrontation ended with the injured party on the floor. The court said evidence before the Circuit Court was that McDonnell kicked and repeatedly stomped on his head.
The injured party was taken to the Mater Hospital with a Glasgow Coma Scale assessment of 4 out of 15, later falling to 3. The Court of Appeal said he could no longer live independently, had difficulty recognising danger and crossing roads, had suicidal tendencies and affected speech, and had lost much of his former relationship with his eight-year-old son.
The court also considered McDonnell’s background. It noted 17 previous convictions, mainly road traffic offences, including two for drunk driving and a 2006 assault conviction involving biting off a person’s ear. A 2013 neuropsychological evaluation by Dr Albert Blanco concluded that a 2008 overdose had resulted in brain damage and identified cognitive defects. McDonnell had also spent time at the Central Mental Hospital; his fitness to be tried was considered at a hearing, after which the trial was allowed to proceed. He later pleaded guilty, which the sentencing judge treated as an early plea in light of the mental-health issues and their resolution.
The appeal court said the sentencing judge had approached the case with particular care, including seeking further information about the injured party’s progress. It described the assault and its lasting consequences as very serious, while recognising McDonnell’s particular difficulties and background. Finding no error in the sentencing approach, the court dismissed the appeal. It did not alter the sentence.