Father urges judge to jail teen over killing fears

A 16-year-old pleaded with a Children’s Court judge yesterday to jail him so that he or someone else would not end up dead.

The boy’s father echoed that plea to Judge Tim Lucey at the juvenile sitting of Cork District Court yesterday.

“I lost a son through suicide. I just want you to remand him in custody for a week,” the boy’s father said.

Judge Lucey said the courts could not operate like that.

The boy’s father then said, “He is going to kill himself or kill someone else.”

Judge Lucey said he was very sympathetic to the young man and his father. The judge said that when he started in practice as a lawyer it was not unusual for judges to remand someone in custody for a week to give them a taste of prison in the hope that it would curb their behaviour. However, Judge Lucey said the higher courts in Ireland rightly did not allow such an approach and he could not simply remand the youth in custody when it was not merited on the facts of the case.

Eddie Burke, solicitor, said the boy’s father and mother — who were both present in court yesterday — were trying to do right by their son. The defendant’s father said his son had a lot of charges coming against him for breaking into many properties in Co Waterford.

The only matters before Cork District Court yesterday were two counts of being drunk and a danger, and one of damaging the fly-window of a car. Inspector Gary McPolin said the teenager broke into a parked car and was so drunk he could not get out of it at Gurranabraher on February 25. The other drunken incident occurred a fortnight earlier at St Finbarr Street, Cork.

Mr Burke said the accused had mental health and substance abuse issues: “He is going nowhere fast and his parents are very, very worried.”

Judge Lucey said that in the absence of any previous convictions and the nature of the offences to which the accused pleaded guilty and his age he was entitled to have the case dismissed under the Probation of Offenders Act.

Mr Burke said the family had hoped the boy would be remanded in custody for a week for fear of what would happen. Judge Lucey said, “That is a risk we have to take.”

The defendant commented: “Risking my life.”

His father said: “I am begging you, your honour.”

When it was clear that the accused was not being remanded in custody, the boy’s father walked out of court saying his son would end up killing someone or killing himself.