Part of the Garda investigation into the murder of a 14-year-old boy by a 16-year-old Co Laois youth has been condemned by a judge.
Mr Justice Barry White, who presided over the eight-day murder trial at the Central Criminal court after which the 16-year-old accused was convicted of murder, had earlier ruled five video interviews of the prisoner during his detention at Portlaoise Garda station as inadmissable evidence during the trial.
The youth was found guilty of murdering the 14-year-old boy with a hammer yesterday and is in custody in St Patrick's Institution for sentencing on October 12th. The video recordings of the accused's admissions to the murder were never shown to the jury.
Explaining why he refused to allow the video recordings to be shown to the jury, Mr Justice White said Portlaoise gardaí had a "cavalier" attitude to the treatment of the boy in detention and ruled that admissions made by the boy were "effectively cajoled out of him".
Justice White questioned the need to arrest a minor at 3.50 a.m. on November 12th. "Even if it was urgent, I do not consider it appropriate to question the child in his fatigued position".
He said the member in charge at Portlaoise Garda station - the Garda responsible for ensuring prisoners' rights are not breached - had "failed to comply with his statutory obligations" by not informing the youth and his father of the right to a solicitor.
"That failure is not fatal to the validity of the detention but it is perhaps indicative of the cavalier attitude of the member in charge to a person detained under Section 4," said the judge.
Mr Justice White said confessions from the teenager were more or less "cajoled" out of him in the final interview. "Throughout the second and third interview the juvenile maintained his attitude that he was not guilty of any offence. That attitude was maintained throughout the fourth interview" he said.
He criticised detectives and the boy's father - who was there during questioning - for "raised voices" and "inappropriate comments" made to the teenager during the fourth interview.
"Having regard to the atmosphere of the fourth interview and the demeanour of the juvenile in the fifth interview I am satisfied that the emanations from him were not the emanations of a free will, I am satisfied they were not freely made" the judge added.
The judge also criticised Portlaoise gardaí for holding the teenager in a cell. Under the Children's Act minors should only be held in a cell if there is no other means. In this case there were other rooms available.
The judge also found the extension of the period of detention of the boy was late by one minute and was unlawful.