Sir, – The cruel and barbaric conduct of Garda Paul Moody which resulted in his pleading guilty to a criminal charge of coercive control on dates between January 1st, 2019, and November 30th, 2020, and in his being sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and three months, as reported by your crime correspondent Conor Gallagher (News, July 27th), starkly illustrates the need for the Houses of the Oireachtas to urgently amend the relevant legislation to provide for a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Based on the reported facts, a variety of other serious charges brought against Moody, including ones of assault and a threat to kill, were dropped in light of the guilty plea. Presumably his plea was accepted and this occurred so that his unwell female victim would not have to suffer the stress of a contested trial.
As reported, the circumstances compelled the trial judge to reduce the five-year maximum sentence that could be imposed to three years and three months, which in practical terms will be further reduced should Moody be of good behaviour while serving his sentence.
Moody’s vile and indefensible conduct should have resulted in a far heavier sentence but reportedly the judge was constrained in imposing one due to the guilty plea. Had the maximum sentence available been 10 years this difficulty would have been ameliorated.
Reforming legislation is urgently required to ensure no judge is in the future in any similar criminal case is so constrained.
In addition to increasing the maximum sentence, it should also prescribe that such conduct by a serving garda be treated with additional severity due to the gross breach of public trust involved and violation of the Garda Síochána oath to uphold the law. – Yours, etc,
ALAN SHATTER,
(Former minister
for justice and equality),
Dublin 16.
Sir, – How is it possible that a serving garda convicted of a heinous criminal offence is allowed to resign, if that occurred?
Will the member get a pension?
Surely immediate dismissal is more appropriate. – Yours, etc,
DEREK CARRUTHERS,
Kilteel,
Co Kildare.