Posts

Political Considerations in Ireland at the time of the Sallins case

The Sallins Train Robbery and subsequent arrest of Osgur Breatnach in 1970s Ireland occurred at a time of extreme political upheaval. The Troubles were rampant in Northern Ireland. The government was calling for harsher measures to be introduced in order to counter the levels of violence and terrorism occurring both North and South of the border. Operation Demetrius saw the introduction of internment measures in Northern Ireland. The use of internment as a tactic to quell the violence in the North was an extreme measure, which greatly abused the rights of the accused. Internment is a significant violation of the fair trial rights of the accused and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties has drawn attention to the Irish Special Criminal Court, which has been denying these same fair trial rights for over half a century. The Offences Against the State Act which gives power to this court is in dire need of being abolished. The politics of Ireland and the corruption involved in those elected...
Read more

Why are People Wrongfully Convicted?

Wrongful convictions are not a new phenomenon. Society worldwide has in the past placed a high level of trust in their respective legal and justice systems, presuming that the system simply worked. Can it be said this trust is waning due to the high number of false convictions and the reasons behind them? We have seen in the previous blogposts how such a wrongful conviction impacted Osgur Breatnach’s life; despite being exonerated, the torment remains a daily presence. So, what factors contribute to wrongful convictions and how have these changed down through the years? There are a number of factors which lead to wrongful convictions such as: (i) Eyewitness Misidentification In the US, this is the main reason leading to false convictions. This can occur from descriptions given by people to law enforcement officers or by incorrectly identifying a person in a line-up. (ii) False Confessions We saw how this occurred in Osgur Breatnach’s case. A person is in a high-pressure situation, and ...
Read more

The Psychological Effects and Mental Health Aspects of wrongful conviction

Introduction: This blog post will explore the psychological impact of being wrongfully convicted and also the effects which this has on the family of the wrongfully convicted. Studies have shown that those who are subject to being wrongfully convicted of crimes have a long-term distrust of the criminal justice system. Several studies have shown the damaging long-term effects which torture has both mentally and physically on people. The long-term mental effects of torture can result in a prevalence of the development of PTSD. PTSD is an extremely serious disorder. PTSD, although a primarily mental disorder can have several physical effects on people. The long-term mental disorder results in physical effects such as; musculoskeletal pain negative effects on the cardio-respiratory (CR) system and gastrointestinal system (GI) amongst other general health complaints     PTSD: PTSD also affects how people behave. The effects of PTSD on the brain of the individual are so severe tha...
Read more

The Special Criminal Court: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

The Special Criminal Court ‘Guilty until proven innocent?’ These are the words used by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to describe the Special Criminal Court (SCC) when it recently called for its abolition. The SCC played a significant role in Osgur Breatnach’s plight as one of the key players in the serious injustices suffered by him in the Sallins train robbery case. For more details on the background to the case, please see our first blog post in this thread.  So, what is the SCC? The 1937 Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hEireann provides for the establishment of ‘special courts’ by law where the ordinary courts are deemed inadequate to secure effective administration of justice and preservation of peace and order (Article 38.3). With the political unrest at home and in Europe around this time, 1939 saw the introduction of the Offences Against the State Act (OASA), thus providing the legislative framework to give effect to Article 38.3. Part V of the OASA permi...
Read more

Happy International Day of the Right to Truth!

Image
Read more

The Power of Truth: a Means of Overcoming Past Abuses and Maintaining People’s Confidence in the Justice System

In the early morning of the 7 th of April 1976 , Osgur Breatnach signed a false self-accusatory statement admitting guilt for taking part in the Sallins mail train robbery: that document served as key evidence for his subsequent wrongful conviction by the Special Criminal Court . The circumstances that led to his flawed confession were never ascertained: despite the Court of Criminal Appeal exonerating Osgur, it failed to address the causes of the injuries found on Osgur’s body immediately after the Garda interrogation, which medical reports deemed to be consistent with the allegations of torture and police brutality.  Recently, on the 25 th of January 2022 , Sinn Féin politician and Member of the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas) Pa Daly raised the need to carry out an independent, statutory, public enquiry into Osgur’s and similar cases and asked for the Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Micheál Martin’s support. However, the Taoiseach expressed his scepticism and opposition towards th...
Read more