JUDGEMENT RESERVED IN APPEAL BY OMAGH CHARGE MAN
Judgment reserved in appeal by Omagh charge man
JUDGMENT was reserved on Thursday last in the appeal by the only man convicted in connection with the Omagh bombing.
Colm Murphy, 51, from Ravensdale, Co Louth, is claiming his 14-year prison sentence is unsafe and unsound.
He was convicted in January 2002 for conspiring to cause the explosion in Omagh, which killed 29 people and injured more than 300 in August 1998.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Dublin, senior counsel for the state, Peter Charleton, rejected allegations from Murphy's lawyers that his right to silence had been flagrantly disregarded when it was used as part of the corroborative evidence against him in the original trial.
On the third day of the appeal hearing, Mr Charleton said Murphy had provided his version of events through his lawyers, but had not taken to the stand to subject it to cross-examination.
Murphy had denied making any admission during police interviews in February 1999 about lending his mobile phone to known republicans, knowing it would be used for moving bombs.
Mr Charleton said the officers who conducted the interviews had taken the stand and had been challenged by Murphy's defence team.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, presiding, asked Mr Charleton how the court should view the perjured evidence of two gardai.
Detectives Liam Donnelly and John Fahy were found to have altered a page of Murphy's statement and to have lied about doing so in court.
Mr Charleton acknowledged that neither of the officers had provided an explanation for what they did. But he said the falsified Murphy interview statements had been disclosed during the trial and the defence had fallen far short of showing any wider police conspiracy.
"If it happened later on, it would definitely be a case for a retrial," he said.
The Special Criminal Court had reacted by increasing the burden of proof on the prosecution.
"We have to be even more careful than usual as regards the credibility of witnesses," said Mr Charleton.
He said there were telephone records which showed Murphy's mobile phone and one he had borrowed from his foreman (Terence Morgan) being used on the date of the Omagh bombing.
Senior counsel Michael O'Higgins, representing Murphy, said the original trial judges had not considered the evidence he had presented.
He added that the state had conceded that if the Garda interviewing system during the investigation had become contaminated, the entire conviction was unsafe.
JUDGMENT was reserved on Thursday last in the appeal by the only man convicted in connection with the Omagh bombing.
Colm Murphy, 51, from Ravensdale, Co Louth, is claiming his 14-year prison sentence is unsafe and unsound.
He was convicted in January 2002 for conspiring to cause the explosion in Omagh, which killed 29 people and injured more than 300 in August 1998.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Dublin, senior counsel for the state, Peter Charleton, rejected allegations from Murphy's lawyers that his right to silence had been flagrantly disregarded when it was used as part of the corroborative evidence against him in the original trial.
On the third day of the appeal hearing, Mr Charleton said Murphy had provided his version of events through his lawyers, but had not taken to the stand to subject it to cross-examination.
Murphy had denied making any admission during police interviews in February 1999 about lending his mobile phone to known republicans, knowing it would be used for moving bombs.
Mr Charleton said the officers who conducted the interviews had taken the stand and had been challenged by Murphy's defence team.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, presiding, asked Mr Charleton how the court should view the perjured evidence of two gardai.
Detectives Liam Donnelly and John Fahy were found to have altered a page of Murphy's statement and to have lied about doing so in court.
Mr Charleton acknowledged that neither of the officers had provided an explanation for what they did. But he said the falsified Murphy interview statements had been disclosed during the trial and the defence had fallen far short of showing any wider police conspiracy.
"If it happened later on, it would definitely be a case for a retrial," he said.
The Special Criminal Court had reacted by increasing the burden of proof on the prosecution.
"We have to be even more careful than usual as regards the credibility of witnesses," said Mr Charleton.
He said there were telephone records which showed Murphy's mobile phone and one he had borrowed from his foreman (Terence Morgan) being used on the date of the Omagh bombing.
Senior counsel Michael O'Higgins, representing Murphy, said the original trial judges had not considered the evidence he had presented.
He added that the state had conceded that if the Garda interviewing system during the investigation had become contaminated, the entire conviction was unsafe.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1772
Published Date: 16-Dec-04
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