The killer of a former All-Ireland champion boxer who suffered from a drug addiction has been given a five-year suspended sentence at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today.
Joseph Sutcliffe (32) lived in the notorious Fatima Mansions complex in Rialto, Dublin, and was stabbed to death there by Anthony Burke (35) of Clancarty Road, Donnycarney, Dublin during a fight last year.
Burke had pleaded not guilty to murder during last month's trial and after seven hours of deliberation, the jury handed down a majority verdict of manslaughter.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said he did "not see any purpose" in imprisoning Burke for killing the father-of-three who died as a result of blood loss from a single stab wound to the abdomen.
He said it seemed to him that Mr Burke was a "decent man and remains one who was sucked into something that he wasn't able to cope with". He noted Burke had no previous convictions and accepted evidence that the accused was a "man who spends his life looking after his invalid father".
He further accepted that Burke "had not intended to kill anyone"; and during the trial said the court saw the accused on taped interviews "trembling with incomprehension and remorse".
Mr Justice Carney sentenced Burke to the suspended sentence on the condition he keep the peace for five years on a bond of €1,000.
Judge Carney said he is "asked on a daily basis" how he listens to the evidence he hears in court. "So far, I have been able to do it because by the time of 4.10 pm, I have forgotten what I've been dealing with. But in this case, my defences have broken down.
"On the conclusion of this case, I have been haunted by the conditions of the cruelly named Fatima Mansions.
Judge Carney said the court heard from young women who "ply their trade" on Baggot Street and Benburb Street "until they got enough money to buy drugs at Fatima Mansions.
He said the court heard during the trial that "people were told 'go left for the white stuff and go right for the brown stuff' when looking for drugs at the block of flats".
In sentencing, the judge also applied the probation act to mother-of-five Ms Ellen Cahill of Fatima Mansions who had pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution for an arrestable offence.
The court heard that Ms Cahill disposed of the knife after the fatal stabbing, but she later showed gardaí where the knife was located.