Justice for Osgur Breatnach

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 ...

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...

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...