The Court of Criminal Appeal has suspended the entire four-year prison sentence imposed on a former psychiatric nurse for assaulting a patient who was being restrained by other staff at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, Dublin.
The patient had died later that day but his death was found not to have been a consequence of the assault.
Bernard Cullen (47), Hillview, Gormanstown, Co Kildare, appealed against the severity of the four-year sentence imposed last June by the Circuit Criminal Court after he pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Garry Connell (35) on September 19th, 2001.
Cullen was on bail since last July pending the outcome of his appeal.
The assault occurred when Mr Connell was restrained after he stabbed a care worker in the eye and face with a piece of broken mirror.
The appeal court noted other staff in the hospital had described the incident as the most violent they had ever seen.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearbs presiding at the three judge appeal court and sitting with Mr Justice Michael Hanna and Mr Justice Liam McKechnie, said they would suspend the entire sentence.
Mr Justice Kearns said the appeal court believed the sentence imposed was on the "high end of the scale".
He noted Cullen had spent a month in prison before being released on bail.
The judge also said Cullen had given excellent service during his 25 years as a psychiatric nurse at the Central Mental Hospital. He had co-operated fully with the investigation, had no previous convictions, and was not likely to re-offend.
The court accepted that since the incident he has suffered from depression, demotivation, had little social contact and had become a couch potato, the judge added.
What had happened to Mr Connell was "most regrettable" and Cullen would have "to carry" with him what had occurred.
Earlier, Mr John O'Donnell SC, for Cullen, argued that the sentence imposed was harsh and submitted that several factors, including an absence of appropriate training, "could not be ignored."
A suspended sentence would be a more appropriate sanction, he said.
Cullen has always been remorseful about what happened to Mr Connell, counsel added.
Opposing the appeal, Ms Karen O'Connor BL, for the DPP, said the sentence imposed was appropriate.
The trial court had heard that the assault took place after attempts were made to escort Mr Connell to another unit in the hospital after he cut the face of another staff member with broken glass.
Cullen, who was in charge of control and restraint, arrived as staff were trying to take Mr Connell down a set of stairs and he told them that he would take over the escort of the patient.
Cullen had admitted to kicking Mr Connell in the shoulder three times and punching him twice in the face while he was being restrained on the ground.