Nun seeks miscarraige of justice certificate

A nun who was wrongly convicted of raping a young girl is due to seek a certificate declaring a miscarriage of justice at the Court of Criminal Appeal today.

Nora Wall, who was found guilty of the crime with homeless drifter Pablo McCabe in 1999, had her conviction quashed after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said it fully and ungrudgingly accepted the pair were entitled to be presumed innocent.

The 56-year-old former Mercy nun was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime in which she was described as the leader, while Mr McCabe – who has since died – received 12 years.

They were accused of the attack on the girl at St Michael’s Childcare Centre in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, on an unknown date in 1987 or 1988.

Both convictions were quashed days after they were found guilty and their names were cleared when the DPP announced it would not be seeking a retrial.

It emerged the DPP had directed that a key witness who gave evidence for the prosecution should not be called.

Gaining a certificate of a miscarriage of justice will allow Ms Wall to sue the state for damages.