Ex-Army man's case to end life sentence adjourned until July

A LEGAL action aimed at securing the release of former Army private Sean Courtney, who has served 15 years of a life sentence for the murder of Dublin woman Patricia O’Toole in the Dublin mountains, has been adjourned at the High Court.

Courtney, wearing jeans and a striped shirt, was in court yesterday when his case was listed for hearing. However, because Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, the only judge available to hear the case, is going on circuit next week for a fortnight – meaning the hearing would be split up – lawyers for both sides asked that it be adjourned for mention to July 17th when they hope to secure a new hearing date.

Gerard Hogan SC, for Courtney, and Shane Murphy SC, for the State, both said they believed a split hearing would not be satisfactory and Ms Justice Laffoy concurred.

In his action, Courtney claims he was told in 2004 the Minister for Justice would not consider his application for release until he had served 15 years of his sentence and that an agent of the Minister subsequently told him this was because of media attention.

Courtney is challenging the constitutionality of the laws providing for a mandatory life sentence for murder, arguing they remove all judicial discretion in relation to sentencing. He is also contending he is now eligible for, and should be granted, temporary release.

He is arguing the failure to release him is in breach of his rights under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003.

Courtney (41), South Circular Road, Dublin, was found guilty in January 1993 by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of murdering Ms O’Toole (32), an insurance employee from Killiney, Co Dublin, at Mount Venus Road, Rathfarnham, in August 1991. He was jailed for life and his appeal against conviction was rejected in 1994.

Courtney had admitted killing Ms O’Toole but claimed he was insane at the time, in that, he claimed, he could not refrain from what he was doing by virtue of suffering post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in Lebanon.

During the trial, Courtney said an Army friend had accidentally shot himself while on duty in Lebanon in 1987 and this and other incidents, including coming under fire from “armed Arabs”, had a “terrible effect” on him.

In a statement to gardaí, Courtney admitted he picked up Ms O’Toole early on the morning of August 31st, 1991. He said she “was laughing about me and seemed to think it was a big joke . . . I just blew a fuse and went mad.” His counsel said Courtney, because of his disorder, had interpreted what she said as a threat.