Legal system indicted
Gardaí have acknowledged that as a result of incomplete evidence and non-compliant witnesses, together with their inaccurate and fragmented testimonies, the identity of Brian Murphy's killers will never be known.
I understood that in this country a person was innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
In this case, convictions have been made through a maze of sketchy evidence with no positive identification of the individuals who killed Brian Murphy.
Yet Dermot Laide has just begun a four-year sentence for manslaughter when there was evidence that he was peripheral to the final brawl in which Brian Murphy was so tragically kicked to death.
Dermot Laide may be guilty of violent disorder, for which he should be punished, but is his sentence for manslaughter justified?
It is undoubtedly a huge tragedy for Brian Murphy and his family they have lost a son, a brother, and a friend but by sending a man to jail for his manslaughter when he is known not to have killed him is also a huge tragedy. Two wrongs do not make a right.
It has been suggested that many of those who attended Club Anabel on that night are part of a conspiracy of silence. If so, their attitude had been rewarded.
In effect, the case is now closed and Brian Murphy's killers are still free.
There were three fatal blows delivered in this case one to Brian Murphy, a second to the justice system, and a third to the truth.
Muiren Nolan,
Freshford,
Co Kilkenny.
