The official NATIONAL court report thread

[Matlock]

You said to the above that if you'd used unreasonable force then yes (the sentence was correct)

I'm suggesting that in a case where someone reasonably fears for their own life and/or that of a loved one, then that might not have been deemed unreasonable force. We heard earlier that the dead man made a move towards the knife.

Are you going to deny that if he/his brief said he feared for his life given the circumstances that led to the death it would have been very plausible? That being the case how is it unreasonable force to protect his own life and/or that of a loved one?

His barrister (brief not being a word that we use in Irish courts, or anywhere outsider of Eastenders to be honest) put forward the argument that his actions were reasonable. The Jury did not agree.

I am not sure what point it is you think you are making here.

 

[doppellanger]

Not sure - is one already bloody, and are you staring down the barrel of a gun at the other?

Wtf are you on about? Take your tablets, old man.

 

[doppellanger]

His barrister (brief not being a word that we use in Irish courts, or anywhere outsider of Eastenders to be honest) put forward the argument that his actions were reasonable. The Jury did not agree.

I am not sure what point it is you think you are making here.

I have no idea what he's on about either. I guess he read the news report in The Mirror and now considers himself well-informed.

 

[Pooman]

And I gave it.

Me saying "Sentences in Ireland are too short" is a specific example of me being critical of sentencing.

Again, I can only explain it to you, I can't understand it for you.

He's really thick.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

He's really thick.

Fu m8

 

[dennisfallen]

Fu m8

 

[Pooman]

Fu m8

Case proven .

 

[Hank Scorpio]

'Seamus Clarke SC, defending, told the court that the man, a foreign national, came from a culture where girls as young as 13 began sexual activity with men and were married as young as 15'.

This is some excuse from his lawyer for the rape of a child.

Farm worker jailed for defilement of employer’s 14-year-old daughter

Court hears man effectively groomed the child into thinking they were in a romantic relationship

www.irishtimes.com

 

[Pooman]

'Seamus Clarke SC, defending, told the court that the man, a foreign national, came from a culture where girls as young as 13 began sexual activity with men and were married as young as 15'.

This is some excuse from his lawyer for the rape of a child.

Farm worker jailed for defilement of employer’s 14-year-old daughter

Court hears man effectively groomed the child into thinking they were in a romantic relationship

www.irishtimes.com

It's a nasty world out there. Those of us who haven't encountered such tragedies in our day-to-day existence should be thankful.

 

[Gregory_Mike]

If we think things are bad in Ireland, drop in the ocean compared the good ole USA

A US man who spent nearly four decades in prison for murder has been released after new DNA evidence pointed to a different person.



Maurice Hastings served more than 38 years in state prison for the 1983 murder of Roberta Wydermyer in California and two attempted murders.
But new DNA evidence instead pointed to another man who died in prison in 2020.
Now 69, Mr Hastings has been released from prison after his 1988 conviction was vacated on 20 October.
LA County District Attorney George Gascón described his conviction as a "terrible injustice".
"The justice system is not perfect, and when we learn of new evidence which causes us to lose confidence in a conviction, it is our obligation to act swiftly," he added in a statement.
Roberta Wydermyer was found in the boot of her car with a single gunshot wound to the head in 1983. She had earlier been sexually assaulted.

Mr Hastings was subsequently charged with murder and prosecutors sought the death penalty.
After a hung jury, a second jury convicted him and he was sentenced in 1988 to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
At the time of the victim's autopsy, semen was detected in an oral swab. Mr Hastings had maintained his innocence from the moment he was arrested, but a request for DNA testing of the swab in 2000 was denied by the district attorney.
Eventually he was able to put in a claim of innocence to the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit in 2021 and DNA testing in June found that the semen was not his.
The DNA profile instead matched a man who had been convicted of an armed kidnapping where he placed his female victim in a trunk of a vehicle.

Following a court hearing on 20 October to vacate his conviction, Mr Hastings told reporters he wasn't bitter and wanted to enjoy the rest of his life.
"I prayed for many years that this day would come," the Associated Press quoted Mr Hastings as saying. "I am not pointing fingers; I am not standing up here a bitter man, but I just want to enjoy my life now while I have it."