A WESTMEATH man jailed for five years for assault and possession of explosive substances walked free from court yesterday after his conviction was quashed on appeal.
The Court of Criminal Appeal found an “element of unfairness” in the trial of Raymond O’Neill snr (48) affected the guilty verdict returned by a Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court jury in June 2009.
Mr O’Neill, of Meadowbrook, Willowpark, Athlone, was sentenced to five years by Judge Donagh McDonagh after he “firmly denied” assault causing harm to Michael Horan on December 26th, 2006, and the possession of six petrol bombs at his home on January 10th, 2007.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan said the court found that evidence adduced at trial of Mr O’Neill’s 14 previous convictions in the United Kingdom, including two for affray, had “seriously damaged” his credibility before the jury.
He said the appeals court found these matters had “unwittingly” gone before the jury after a decision was made by Mr O’Neill’s legal team to cross-examine two principal prosecution witnesses on their previous offending.
The court heard that, under section 1F of the Criminal Justice Evidence Act of 1924, a person charged with an offence cannot be asked about their previous convictions unless the defence queries the good character of witnesses for the prosecution.
Lawyers for Mr O’Neill had argued that the decision to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses was taken after his advisers were unwittingly, but not deliberately, misled that all that could be laid at Mr O’Neill’s feet was a single previous conviction for damaging property belonging to another.
Mr Justice Finnegan said the fact Mr O’Neill’s advisers had sought to rely on this information, which had been disclosed by the State, made for an unusual circumstance that resulted in an unanticipated unfairness. He said the court would accordingly set aside Mr O’Neill’s conviction and would not order a retrial.