Mothers’ plea over violent offenders

TWO mothers who lost sons in savage attacks have called for changes in the way the law deals with violent offenders.

Charlotte Nolan, whose 18-year-old son Sean was stabbed to death in Dublin on his graduation night in 2007, said she regretted that the jury in the trial of his attacker had opted to find the accused guilty on the lesser charge of manslaughter rather than murder.

“I believe that these cases should be taken out of the hands of the jury,” she said. She said it was too hard for a jury to be objective and she believed they had been swayed by the remorseful appearance of accused, Finn Colclough, in court.

Meanwhile, Marie Phelan, whose son, Colm, was beaten to death after a stag night in 1996, said a life taken should be punished by life in prison after it emerged one of the gang who attacked Colm and was sentenced to just two years in jail went on to progressively more violent acts, culminating in the murder last year of Swiss student Manuel Riedo.

Gerard Barry was sentenced to life in prison last week but Ms Phelan said the opportunity should have been taken at the trial that followed her son’s death to prevent Barry doing any more harm.

Barry was charged with manslaughter but convicted of violent disorder after the jury failed to agree on the more serious charge.

“Life should mean life,” Ms Phelan said. “There should be a special prison for people involved in the taking of life and anyone who murders someone should be left there for life.”

Both mothers were speaking on RTÉ Radio on the Liveline show, where Ms Phelan made a plea nine years ago for more action to be taken on violent assaults. Presenter Joe Duffy yesterday replayed the recording from the year 2000 in which she appealed to young people to think before they drank, started fights or armed themselves with knives before a night out.

“If they would just think, so that no other family would be put through the devastation that our family has felt,” she pleaded at the time. Colm Phelan, from Roscrea, Co Tipperary, was 26 years old when he and some friends were set upon by Barry, then aged 16, and three other youths in Eyre Square in Galway.

Colm was beaten repeatedly and suffered fatal head injuries when Barry took a bottle from a bin and struck him with it. Ms Phelan said she had been ready to forgive Barry in the belief that he would never re-offend.

But as his trial for the rape and murder of 17-year-old visiting student Manuela Riedo heard, he had gone on to blind an elderly man and rape an ex-girlfriend among other offences for which he served time before he eventually murdered Manuela.

Another bereaved relative also called the show to criticise lenient sentences in cases where lives were lost. Ben Quinn, uncle of 21-year-old Co Louth man Bernard “Benny” Leggett, who died when he was run over by a man in 2005, said he was angry that the culprit was only convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail.