Support body criticises concurrent terms for murders

A HOMICIDE support group has criticised the decision not to impose two consecutive life sentences on the man found guilty of the brutal murders of Pawel Kalite and Mariusz Szwajkos.

Passing sentence at the Central Criminal Court, Justice Liam McKechnie handed down two mandatory life terms to 19-year-old David Curran to run currently.

This means Curran will serve them at the same time, rather than consecutively, one after the other.

The actual length of time convicted murderers spend in prison varies.

The most recent figures from the Parole Board show that the average length of a life sentence, for those who are released, stood at 16 to 17 years in 2009, compared with 12 years in 1994.

AdVIC (Advocates for the Victims of Homicide) yesterday said it wanted to “register its criticism of the concurrent sentence” handed down for the murders of the two men. In a statement, the group said both men were brutally murdered by David Curran but he only received concurrent life sentences.

“AdVIC remains opposed to the principle of concurrent sentencing and, in the light of today’s sentence, proposes an immediate national debate on sentencing principles and practices,” the statement said.

Annie Mulvaney, Joint Secretary of AdVIC, added: “We believe that legislation must be passed which will ensure that consecutive sentencing for offenders will now operate on a statutory basis and written as a presumption into law. Judges’ discretion on concurrent sentencing should be removed immediately with regard to all unlawful killings and violent offences.

“AdVIC proposes nothing more than fairness for offender, victims and their families alike. Legislative intervention with regard to consecutive sentencing will achieve a recalibration of justice in Ireland for all those affected by homicide and for Irish society as a whole.”