Irish Examiner view: Criminals must be put in the dock

Facing justice

Sonya Egan, right, with her solicitor, Eimear Griffin at Cork Court Pic Cork Courts.

There were many strange aspects to the trial of Sonya Egan who has been jailed for spinning a systematic web of lies about multiple people causing despair, destruction of careers, and downright misery among her victims, many of whom were public servants working diligently and responsibly in sensitive areas of community duty.

As the Irish Examiner reported: “Professional people, in some instances, had to stand down from their jobs to let investigations proceed, they had to be interviewed at length, and they had to go home to their loved ones and tell them in some cases that they had been accused of raping a woman.” 

While the litany of lurid lies spread against many victims is indeed disturbing, there is another question raised by the case which goes beyond the susceptibility of organisations and the onerous obligations they can sometimes face to fully investigate allegations no matter how far-fetched such accusations may seem.

It is a concern that there is a tendency among defendants, even when they are found guilty of criminal actions, to refuse to attend court, or to take their place in the dock to hear sentence and confront the gaze of their victims. 

For many, it is an affront to the principles of justice being seen to be done. For others it is an obstacle to closure. In the case of Sonya Egan, she refused to attend Cork Circuit Criminal Court for the judge’s descriptions of the agony and damage she caused. 

She also refused to appear via video link from Limerick Prison where she declared herself to be on hunger strike.

Other jurisdictions are already grappling with the growing trend for non-appearance for sentence —and in some cases even to give evidence — and how to respond to the public resentment it engenders. 

In the British legal system, proposals for applying longer jail terms to refuseniks are being considered. These may allow judges to treat refusal to attend as an ”aggravating factor”.

In some high-profile cases killers, including Koci Selamaj, the murderer of the young South London teacher Sabina Nessa, have declined to appear leading one Tory MP to say: “When defendants in murder, rape, and other serious cases hide in their cells and fail to appear for sentencing, they are effectively abusing their victim and the victim’s family once again.” 

While this is a complex subject, it is clearly desirable that offenders appear in court, and that victims can be assured that their impact statements are heard by the perpetrators. 

If the purpose of prison is not only to punish, but to reform and rehabilitate, then the guilty must face up to what they have done. 

Otherwise, what is the point?