Mother of stabbing victim brands retrial 'inhumane'

The mother of a Dublin man who was fatally stabbed in the heart has said that sitting through his killer's retrial was inhumane and cruel for her family.

Martin Toland, of Walkinstown Park in Dublin, is to be sentenced this Friday for the manslaughter of Alan Nolan and for seriously injuring James Carroll at Cedar Brook Walk, Ballyfermot on September 8, 2007.

Toland's original murder conviction was quashed on appeal and he was retried this year when a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of his friend Nolan.

He stabbed the 28-year-old five times and also stabbed 30-year-old Carroll, who survived a knife wound to the heart.

The court heard the three men had been drinking, playing cards and playstation at Nolan's apartment in Ballyfermot when a row broke out – apparently about prank phone calls.

At a sentencing hearing today, Nolan's mother Marian described sitting through the retrial as "inhumane and cruel".

"We understand that the offender has rights," she said. "But all we ask is that Alan's memory be afforded an equal measure of respect."

Mr Justice Barry White has remanded Martin Toland in custody for sentencing on Friday.