O'Donogue only gets 4 years

Mr.Nice Guy · 24-01-2006 03:50PM #1

So much for Irish justice. Wayne O'Donoghue has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for the manslaughter of Robert Holohan.

From RTE:

Wayne O'Donoghue has been sentenced to four years in prison for the manslaughter of Robert Holohan.

Last month O'Donoghue, a 21-year-old engineering student from Ballyedmond near Midleton in Co Cork, was acquitted of murder but convicted of the manslaughter of 11-year-old Robert in January 2005.

O'Donoghue admitted killing his next-door neighbour. He said that it was an accident after a row erupted when Robert threw stones at his car.

Earlier today Robert Holohan's mother, Majella, addressed the court. She claimed that semen was found on Robert's body when it was discovered dumped in a ditch at Inch strand in east Cork last January.

Mrs Holohan said that her family's suffering following Robert's death was heartbreaking and indescribable.

She asked why would he have been killed for throwing stones; why were images deleted from his mobile phone; and what was Robert doing in Wayne O'Donoghue's bedroom at 7.20am on one occasion when he was supposed to have been on a sleepover with a friend.

Prior to imposing sentence, Mr Justice Paul Carney warned Majella Holohan to prepare herself.

He told her that the sentence he was going to impose would be upsetting; he said that he would endeavour to explain what he was doing but there was no getting away from the fact that it would upset the mother.

Mr Justice Carney then set out the aggravating and mitigating factors and imposed a sentence of four years.

This is a disgrace. My thoughts and prayers are with Mrs Holohan.

This is a sad day for the justice system in Ireland.

simu · 24-01-2006 03:52PM

I must disagree with you there - 4 years is more than enough tbh.

connundrum · 24-01-2006 03:53PM

Man kills kid - gets 4 years
Ex Guard kills man & injures 3 - gets 5 years

Sorry for not feeling a huge amount of confidence in the justice system.

Edit - Time does not = the crime

BoozyBabe · 24-01-2006 03:54PM

I kind of think it's enough too.

I mean, I really feel for the family, but I do believe he never meant to kill the boy.

One young life has already been wasted due to this, what's the point of allowing another one to be wasted.

chern0byl · 24-01-2006 03:54PM

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

This is a disgrace.

You sound so surprised. Absolutely, he should have gotten 20 years but even the most vile and evil murderer's[yeah theres levels of] dont get more then 10 years for one murder.

Our justice system is too lenient. My friend was down the country a couple of years ago...just for the weekend to see his cousin. He was jumped by 3 guys in a totally unprovoked attack. He spent weeks in hospital recovering and still has not today. They caught those responsible only for them to get the probation act...what can you do?

Mr.Nice Guy · 24-01-2006 03:55PM

simu wrote:

I must disagree with you there - 4 years is more than enough tbh.

Really?

Earlier today Robert Holohan's mother, Majella, addressed the court. She claimed that semen was found on Robert's body when it was discovered dumped in a ditch at Inch strand in east Cork last January.

She asked why would he have been killed for throwing stones; why were images deleted from his mobile phone; and what was Robert doing in Wayne O'Donoghue's bedroom at 7.20am on one occasion when he was supposed to have been on a sleepover with a friend.

4 years?

Mr.Nice Guy · 24-01-2006 03:56PM

chern0byl wrote:

You sound so surprised. Absolutely, he should have gotten 20 years but even the most vile and evil murderer's[yeah theres levels of] dont get more then 10 years for one murder.

Our justice system is too lenient. My friend was down the country a couple of years ago...just for the weekend to see his cousin. He was jumped by 3 guys in a totally unprovoked attack. He spent weeks in hospital recovering and still has not today. They caught those responsible only for them to get the probation act...what can you do?

I guess you're right. I shouldn't be so surprised. I didn't think things were this bad though.

Amazotheamazing · 24-01-2006 03:57PM

He has been found guilty of manslaughter due to a tragic accident, not murder. It's tragic, but if it was accidental, 4 years is fair (relative to other sentences in Irish courts)

BoozyBabe · 24-01-2006 03:57PM

But Mr Nice Guy:- She 'claimed'

I'm not saying there wasn't!
But surely in such a case, all evidence would have been submitted to the case, & if there was semen on him, surely more people would be doing more than 'claiming' it was there

Mr.Nice Guy · 24-01-2006 03:59PM

BoozyBabe wrote:

But Mr Nice Guy:- She 'claimed'

I'm not saying there wasn't!
But surely in such a case, all evidence would have been submitted to the case, & if there was semen on him, surely more people would be doing more than 'claiming' it was there

Eh?

I think the mother is well aware of the case.

She's been let down by the system.

Amazotheamazing · 24-01-2006 04:00PM

She could be taking advantage of privelige (?) that means she can't be sued for anything she says in court, so she can say anything she wants about O'Donoghue, true or not. (I'm not saying she is, but she could be)

finlma · 24-01-2006 04:00PM

It seems fair to me.

Why did all the stuff that Mrs Houlihan said only come up today and not in the court case?

Mr Magnolia · 24-01-2006 04:01PM

He ended the life of an 11yr old boy, I'd leave him rot in jail.

If it was my little brother he killed, or any other poster's for that matter, I reckon the opinion's would change. Failure's in the Irish justice system should not be used as an excuse but as a stick to beat the Government with.

Scraggs · 24-01-2006 04:02PM

connundrum wrote:

Man kills kid - gets 4 years
Ex Guard kills man & injures 3 - gets 5 years

Sorry for not feeling a huge amount of confidence in the justice system.

Edit - Time does not = the crime

totally agree...

four years is a walk in the park, he should be in for at least 10:mad: :mad:

joejoem · 24-01-2006 04:02PM

I never heard the bit about the semen, or the images in the mobile, or Robert being in his room at 7:20am one morning????

whiskeyman · 24-01-2006 04:02PM

4 years was correct, and expected imo, in this trial based on the evidence heard.

What Majella Holohan said in her victim impact statement had no relevance to the sentencing.

The real debate is if this evidence she claims existed, and why it was not used in the trial.

If you think it's too little, I think you should have a look at other manslaughter cases and see this sentance pretty much fits the crime... as per the trial.

Chong · 24-01-2006 04:03PM

I will have to say its enough , the guy never meant to kill the kid.

Ardent · 24-01-2006 04:03PM

finlma wrote:

It seems fair to me.

Why did all the stuff that Mrs Houlihan said only come up today and not in the court case?

This is the question.

The justice system in this country has been a joke for decades.

BoozyBabe · 24-01-2006 04:05PM

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

I think the mother is well aware of the case.

I'm sure the mother IS well aware of the case, but my point was:- if there WAS semen on his body, then why weren't everyone else involved in the case aware of this.

Why does she just say it today at sentencing & for it to be 'news' to all involved.

Like I said, it's tragic, I haven't been following it closely, there may very well be cover ups or something, I'm not saying she's lying or anything.

I'm just saying that for ACTUAL evidence & convictions, I think the sentence is fair.

I don't think any sentence would relieve the mothers pain tbh

solskjaer20 · 24-01-2006 04:06PM

He probably won't even have to serve the full four years .:mad:

Ardent · 24-01-2006 04:07PM

BoozyBabe wrote:

I'm sure the mother IS well aware of the case, but my point was:- if there WAS semen on his body, then why weren't everyone else involved in the case aware of this.

Why does she just say it today at sentencing & for it to be 'news' to all involved.

Cannot you not put 2 and 2 together? Obviously the defense somehow argued for all the evidence to be deemed inadmissable and succeeded.

Chong · 24-01-2006 04:07PM

All seems to convienent in bringing up the whole case of the semen on the guys day of sentencing. Seems like she was clutching at straws in order to get a longer prison sentence.

simu · 24-01-2006 04:08PM

BoozyBabe wrote:

I'm sure the mother IS well aware of the case, but my point was:- if there WAS semen on his body, then why weren't everyone else involved in the case aware of this.

Why does she just say it today at sentencing & for it to be 'news' to all involved.

Exactly - this would have been revealed during the triall if it were true. It seems as if she has lost control of her reason or that she is trying to milk the story for all it's worth (the former, I hope).

Ardent · 24-01-2006 04:09PM

solskjaer20 wrote:

He probably won't even have to serve the full four years .:mad:

4 years from last January I think. Will probably get the last year suspended. Crazy isn't it?

SoupyNorman · 24-01-2006 04:09PM

joejoem wrote:

I never heard the bit about the semen, or the images in the mobile, or Robert being in his room at 7:20am one morning????

Never heard a word about that either,

Fact of the matter is a jury decided on the verdict based on the evidence......the judge simply imposes sentence based on the verdict, dont quote me but I dont think you can get 10years for manslaughter.

Sualtam · 24-01-2006 04:09PM

The guy's story doesn't add up at all. Hopefully the four years are in with the general population & he gets to be on the receiving end of some horseplay.

He killed the child and left him in the ditch to be eaten by rats & he gets people to feel sorry for him. How did he manage that?

whiskeyman · 24-01-2006 04:12PM

simu wrote:

It seems as if she has lost control of her reason or that she is trying to milk the story for all it's worth (the former, I hope).

Not necessarily.
This evidence may have been gathered pre-trial, but mightn't have been fully admissible (as Ardent pointed out).
Realising this, the prosecution had to change tact and go with what they could secure a solid case to go on... which was what we saw.

Unreliable evidence is one of the biggest factors of a case falling apart.

Ardent · 24-01-2006 04:12PM

Sualtam wrote:

The guy's story doesn't add up at all.

I agree.

1) You don't kill a child for throwing stones at your car.
2) It's hard to 'accidentally' kill someone.
3) If it was an accident, why not call an ambulance? Why try to dump the body?

Manslaughter my arse.

um7y1h83ge06nx · 24-01-2006 04:13PM

Seems fair. I think he might have gotten a bit p*ssed off with the stone throwing, decided to scare the sh!t out of the kid and maybe give him a kick up the arse, and things went too far. A world of difference to Charles Manson, terrorist bombings etc.

The mother's claims seems to be hard to believe. How could the gardai have missed semen stains for gods sake. Samples would have been taken. After all they are well capable of dealing with semen samples in rape cases.

Mr Magnolia · 24-01-2006 04:14PM

Willem D wrote:

All seems to convienent in bringing up the whole case of the semen on the guys day of sentencing. Seems like she was clutching at straws in order to get a longer prison sentence.

and

simu wrote:

Exactly - this would have been revealed during the triall if it were true. It seems as if she has lost control of her reason or that she is trying to milk the story for all it's worth (the former, I hope) .

How do ye know??

bravestarr082 wrote:

dont quote me but I dont think you can get 10years for manslaughter.

A life sentance I think is possible, I'm sure some of the guy's doing law will tell us

BoozyBabe · 24-01-2006 04:15PM

Ardent wrote:

Cannot you not put 2 and 2 together? Obviously the defense somehow argued for all the evidence to be deemed inadmissable and succeeded.

Because I don't want to come up with 5, like what you 'MIGHT' be doing.

None of us were there, none of us know.
We are ruled by our justice system whether we believe in it or not.

I think we HAVE to take the ACTUAL evidence of the trial & the conviction into account ONLY when deciding whether we think it's fair or not, & I think it is.

Only my opinion, I'm NOT trying to say everyone else here who says it's not fair is wrong

ASIDE:- I also think semen on a little boys body would be a BIG find & it would be investigated to the last & if it was O'Donoghues it would definitely have been submitted as evidence & he'd have been charged for indecent acts with a child too, or something like that.

It's just strange to me that the mother only comes out with these statements now, that's all.

Sorry if I offend anyone by my posts (just my opinion)

O'Donogue only gets 4 years

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