A Roscommon man acquitted of his mother's murder by reason of insanity has appealed against the verdict, seeking a retrial on grounds of diminished responsibility. Paul Henry was sent to the Central Mental Hospital in May 2014 following his acquittal at Castlebar. His counsel argued the trial judge misdirected the jury on the burden of proof regarding insanity, and that the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to order a retrial and correct the error. The Director of Public Prosecutions opposed the appeal, contending the court lacks power to retry insanity verdicts under existing legislation. During submissions at the Court of Appeal, one judge remarked that Henry might have a better life serving a prison sentence than remaining in the Central Mental Hospital. The three-judge panel reserved judgment, noting the matter would require considerable consideration.
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Original report plus public source leads and related archive reports used for review context.
Public source leads
- Not guilty verdict in Roscommon murder case - RTE.ie RTE.ie · Thu, 01 May 2014 07:00:00 GMT
- Man who was acquitted of murdering his mother on grounds of insanity appeals judgement - Irish Independent Irish Independent · Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:00:00 GMT
- Man found not guilty of murdering his mother committed to mental hospital - Irish Independent Irish Independent · Thu, 18 Feb 2016 08:00:00 GMT
- Man who heard voices found not guilty of girlfriend's murder by reason of insanity - The Journal The Journal · Fri, 07 Jul 2017 07:00:00 GMT
- Man who killed mother committed to mental hospital - RTE.ie RTE.ie · Wed, 07 May 2014 07:00:00 GMT
- Mother stabbed to death by son "was prepared to sacrifice her own happiness" - The Journal The Journal · Tue, 16 Feb 2016 08:00:00 GMT
- Son accused of stabbing mum 10 times had only been released from mental health hospital, murder trial told - Irish Independent Irish Independent · Tue, 29 Apr 2014 07:00:00 GMT
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