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Child Item

Drunk Driver kills 4, gets 4 years, out in 2

seanie_c

Kevin McArdle was sentenced in October 2011 to 4 years for drink driving which resulted in the deaths of 4 people (incl. 1 unborn child)

He was driving on the wrong side of the road and had previous convictions for driving offenses.

You can read story from October 2011 here.

Well, it won't surprise most of you, he was already released last month . . .

Roisin Connolly, from Fanad, was killed when returning to Dublin after spending Christmas in her native county in 2010.

Kevin McArdle of Longfield, Carrickmacross was released from prison last month.

McArdle was three times over the legal alcohol limit and on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into a car on the Carrickmacross by-pass on December 27th.

Two of his friends were killed along with the passenger in the other car 39 year old teach Roisin and her unborn daughter.

Kevin McArdle was jailed for 4 years and disqualified from driving for 12 years at Carrickmacross Circuit Court in 2011.

The DPP is now appealing against the sentence claiming that it is too lenient as the accused had previous driving convictions and showed limited insight into the devastating consequences of his actions.

McArdle’ s lawyers say he knows his actions were wrong, he has served his time and the appeal should fail.

Ms Connolly was in the car with her husband Stephen at the time.

story here

He gets sentenced to 4 years in 2011 and is already out....

Presumably he was charged with manslaughter but shouldn't he be charged with murder?

It may not have been premeditated despite driving on the wrong side of the road and 3 times over the limit, but 2 years makes a mockery of the entire criminal justice system.

They may as well not bother sending someone like that to jail, just slap him on hand and tell him not to do it again.

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dodderangler

For Forks Sake wrote: »

No. No you wouldn't.

Clearly couldnt accept a sarcastic post there

doulikeit

NuckingFacker wrote: »

I'd be glad to see him out if this had been my wife.. we could chat.

i remember this had to take detour that day, wonder if judges were brought to the scenes of these horrific accidents and seen first hand the carnage would their sentencing become more appropriate

freetoall

I think the way he feels everyday is worse than jail it has to be.

auditek923

hes out and walking around with his head held high. waving at everyone and smiling. he was on the beer the day he got out i heard.

HondaSami

Terry1985 wrote: »

it would increase the chances of him bring beaten to within an inch of his life and sugared boiling water forced down his throat by other inmates.

These other inmates are in prison because they are guilty so what makes them better than him?

fryup wrote: »

it sickens me, he must have contacts

Why don't you contact the judge and ask him instead of making assumptions?

carlmango11

The fact that he had previous convictions loses him any shred of sympathy I had for him. He clearly doesn't give a f*ck about who he harms. Deserves a few more years and a lifetime driving ban.

dvet

It's rumoured locally that when the guards got to the scene of the crash, with all the horrific scenes going on around him, and him blind drunk, the thing he was most upset about was the fact that his precious BMW was written off. That is not a joke.

Femme_Fatale

freetoall wrote: »

I think the way he feels everyday is worse than jail it has to be.

Not sure how much of a conscience a person would have at all really if they drive their car after a lash of pints and brandies. I'm sure he feels bad about not getting away with it though.

Capt'n Midnight

humbert wrote: »

A longer suspension from driving would serve to protect the community from him better and I don't believe four years in jail would deter anyone from drink-driving more effectively than two.

The purpose of jail is not retribution.

Do you mean that those people would still be alive if he'd been imprisoned for any of his previous convictions because rehabilitation always works ??

One function of prison is to keep certain people off the streets.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/drunk-driver-who-killed-three-says-hell-never-forgive-himself-26783469.html

Judge John O'Hagan said the fact that McArdle was driving a high-performance car without insurance, coupled with the drinking, smacked of "somebody who has utter contempt for what happens."

McArdle, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, was handed a four-year jail sentence yesterday at Carrickmacross Circuit Court, with the final year suspended.

4 years
but one suspended
and 1/3rd for good behaviour

so no surprise there at all.

It's not quite the same as the Sheedy case

Overheal

thing is, its always seemed to me the irish system of just is centered around rehabilitation vs. retribution. Bothers the hell out of me, especially when it doesn't always work. THen again, the retributive approach doesnt always work either.

but being a democracy I find it interesting that all these threads are the same: the slice of the population that is sampled in this forum (which face it, doesn't directly sample the irish populace) all seem to prefer retributive methods. why then isn't the system changed?

JustAThought

humbert wrote: »

A longer suspension from driving would serve to protect the community from him better and I don't believe four years in jail would deter anyone from drink-driving more effectively than two.

The purpose of jail is not retribution.

It should be.

Bans are not policed and no system of enforcing them effectively exists.

He was already banned and convicted for drink driving 3 times.

Lock him up & throw away the key.
Pity, chances & understanding have repeatedly had no impact on him , & left a family destroyed & loved ones killed.

No more time for bleeding heart criminal sympathisers & criminal scum.

131spanner

Four years in itself seemed a bit soft, not to mind two!

People have done 2 years in prison for far less. Madness to think you can get away with serving 6 months per person you've killed.

humbert

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Do you mean that those people would still be alive if he'd been imprisoned for any of his previous convictions because rehabilitation always works ??

One function of prison is to keep certain people off the streets.

I'm assuming the thrust of that is that two extra years in jail would mean two more years without people being at risk from him because rehabilitation doesn't always work. Can't argue, the parole board made a decision and I hope they made the right one.

I think Ireland needs to clamp down very hard on what are viewed as minor crimes. All drink drivers should be viewed in much the same way as someone drunkenly firing a gun in a public place whether they got home safely or not, the intent is the same. I simply object to the frothing-at-the-mouth rage, encouraged by rags like the Independent, because this man received the same treatment as everyone else who's ever been convicted of a crime.

JustAThought wrote: »

It should be.

Bans are not policed and no system of enforcing them effectively exists.

He was already banned and convicted for drink driving 3 times.

Lock him up & throw away the key.
Pity, chances & understanding have repeatedly had no impact on him , & left a family destroyed & loved ones killed.

No more time for bleeding heart criminal sympathisers & criminal scum.

I think oppositely. Road traffic laws and bans need to be enforced much more stringently. I would sooner direct my anger at a system that allows people like this man to drive around uninsured than seek to see individuals punished more severely after the fact.

redtapestyl

I wonder will this guy ever be in the papers again in the future.. .

Capt'n Midnight

humbert wrote: »

I'm assuming the thrust of that is that two extra years in jail would mean two more years without people being at risk from him because rehabilitation doesn't always work. Can't argue, the parole board made a decision and I hope they made the right one.

Do we have stats on recidivism by those who drive drunk without insurance while banned ?

Do we have stats on the numbers of road deaths/injuries caused by people who should not have been on the roads because they were banned ?

Might be an easy way for the RSA to do some good.

I think Ireland needs to clamp down very hard on what are viewed as minor crimes. All drink drivers should be viewed in much the same way as someone drunkenly firing a gun in a public place whether they got home safely or not, the intent is the same.

AFAIK In France all RTA fatalities are treated as manslaughter until they decide whether to prosecute or not.

Zebra3

Artful_Badger wrote: »

He served time in jail, no licence for 12 years and has to live knowing he killed his pals.

Maybe he doesn't give a toss about that.

Hardly an excuse for such a lenient sentence for a multiple killer.

michael999999

redtapestyl wrote: »

I wonder will this guy ever be in the papers again in the future.. .

Hopefully not on the same roads as my family!

JP Liz V1

Mr McArdle was described as an "exemplary prisoner" by his barrister Michael
O'Higgins Senior Counsel who asked the court to consider a suspended sentence
with community service type work instead of going back to jail.

Community service for killing 4, only in Ireland :rolleyes:

robz150

Update on this today:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/drunk-driver-who-killed-pregnant-teacher-roisin-connolly-in-car-crash-sent-back-to-prison-30082640.html

Sent back to Prison

I am pie

Another year. Nothing.

Spent the year with the threat of a return to jail supposedly sorting out his drinking problem, nothing happened, so he goes back for a year. States that he had a lapse in concentration and would still continue to drink and drive (a few pints) rather than stop altogether.

Grade A moron.

emmabrighton

This

"He said McArdle had affirmed it was commonplace in his locality for young people to drink and drive and when asked by the psychologist if he would continue to drink McArdle replied he would reduce his alcohol intake considerably but would still have the odd pint."

and

He said there was community service work available for McArdle in his home town and he was willing to submit to any form of alcohol treatment, including attending AA.

says a lot about his state of mind. He killed people in a car accident brought about by his alcohol abuse and he still feels that he could have the odd pint.

Also if he didnt return to prison he would be willing to attend AA???????

WTF?

He clearly doesn't GET the impact his drinking has had on his life, his victims family and his own familys life.

As far as I can imagine his brain has been stewed from nearly 2 decades of drinking...

I always maintain that the Drink Aware slogan "drink responsibly" is a total oxymoron cos the more you drink the less responsible you be come but if he is still talking that sort of rubbish after 2 years in prison, I fear there is no hope for him...

Ray Palmer

seanie_c wrote: »

I understand that but he was driving a vehicle 3 times over the legal limit on the wrong side of the road that killed 4 people.

Something like that is murder in my opinion.

And now he's out on the streets again, Ireland is just crazy...
System is an utter joke.

But your opinion means nothing it is not a legal one. If you do something stupid ,dangerous or reckless and it causes a death it just isn't murder. In the sense of English or legally.

It also is the same in other countries so calling Ireland crazy in how it sees murder is actually your flaw.

emmabrighton

I am pie wrote: »

Another year. Nothing.

Spent the year with the threat of a return to jail supposedly sorting out his drinking problem, nothing happened, so he goes back for a year. States that he had a lapse in concentration and would still continue to drink and drive (a few pints) rather than stop altogether.

Grade A moron.

Where did it say he would continue to drink in drive in the article, I thought it was just drink...

suicide_circus

he killed 3 people, not 4 surely?

I am pie

emmabrighton wrote: »

Where did it say he would continue to drink in drive in the article, I thought it was just drink...

No, fair enough, he says he would continue to drink.

"He said McArdle had affirmed it was commonplace in his locality for young people to drink and drive and when asked by the psychologist if he would continue to drink McArdle replied he would reduce his alcohol intake considerably but would still have the odd pint"

A bit ambiguous.

For this alone the lawyer and the drunk driver deserve a solid kicking. Heartless:

"Counsel for McArdle, Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, said that McArdle’s crossing on to the wrong side of the road was a “momentary lapse in concentration” brought about by excessive consumption of alcohol. On another occasion, Mr O’Higgins said, the action could have had no consequences"

Bad luck he killed someone? No, he consciously took actions which directly caused the death of innocent people.

Anyway, useless wretch doesn't deserve another thought.

The legal system does though. It neither punishes nor rehabilitates right now. It's a holiday camp for the do-not-give-a-fcks amongst us.

goose2005

Overheal wrote: »

thing is, its always seemed to me the irish system of just is centered around rehabilitation vs. retribution. Bothers the hell out of me, especially when it doesn't always work. THen again, the retributive approach doesnt always work either.

What rehabilitation is there in Irish prisons??

spank_inferno

goose2005 wrote: »

What rehabilitation is there in Irish prisons??

Rehabilitation is not handed on a plate.

It's a mindset acquired by the criminal.

You either choose to be rehabilitated or you don't.

DildoFaggins

This is an example of why Ireland is a laughing stock he killed 4 people and completely changed the lives of the affected forever and only gets 2 years with benefits most likely, the fact he had previous convictions and said he won't stop drinking sums it up.

I admit I will get a chuckle when I see the next Drink driving Ad on telly.

No Pants

Artful_Badger wrote: »

An extra two years inside wouldnt achieve anything else imo.

Fair enough. Why don't we try an extra six years?

josip

suicide_circus wrote: »

he killed 3 people, not 4 surely?

Roisin Connolly was pregnant.