Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Oct 1942

Vol. 88 No. 9

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Remission of Sentences.

Mr. P.S. Doyle (for Mr. McGilligan)

asked the Minister for Justice if he will state in how many cases, giving the number and not the name, have persons who were sentenced since the emergency been released without completing their sentence; what remission was granted in each case; and if he would give any reasons why such remissions were made.

Mr. Boland

The number of cases in which remissions were granted was 124. Further particulars will appear in the Official Report.

Following are the particulars referred to:—

1. Period and classes of cases covered by this answer.

The figures given in the paragraphs numbered 3 and 4 (below) relate to persons sentenced by the ordinary courts since 1st September, 1939, and subsequently released from prison by order of the Minister for Justice before the end of August, 1942.

The figures given do not include the following classes of cases, viz.:—

(a) Cases dealt with by the Special Criminal Court or by any military court or courtmartial (information as regards such cases is given separately in reply to another question).

(b) Cases in which sentences were remitted by a few days only, as is done shortly before Christmas each year in accordance with a long-established custom.

(c) Remissions granted in the usual course to prisoners of good conduct, viz.: one-sixth of the sentence in ordinary imprisonment cases and one-fourth of the sentence in penal servitude cases.

2. Usual procedure in granting remissions.

The usual procedure is that the prisoner or somebody on his behalf presents a petition or makes representations in some other form to the Minister for Justice setting out the reasons for which it is thought that a remission might be granted. A report is then obtained from the Gárda officers who dealt with the prosecution as to the offence, the prisoner's circumstances and character, and any other information which would be useful in considering the petition. The petition and the Gárda report are then transmitted to the judge or justice who tried the case with a request for his observations. In the majority of cases the judge or justice makes a definite suggestion and that suggestion is adopted by the Minister. Such remissions are, therefore, in the nature of a review of the sentence by the judge or justice, although the actual decision and the responsibility for it lie with the Minister for Justice.

In some cases where there is an element of urgency and the facts are clear, and particularly in cases of minor offences, the Minister directs remission without going through the procedure described above, which obviously entails a certain delay. Thus in a recent case in which a man was serving a short term of imprisonment for an offence of dishonesty, urgent representations in favour of the prisoner's immediate release were made by an officer of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children on the ground that the man's wife had become seriously ill and had been removed to hospital leaving a number of young children without proper care. The facts were verified by telephone inquiry from the local Gárda officer, and the man was released on the same day.

In some cases the judge or justice does not express any definite view, and in such cases the matter is decided on the basis of the petition and the Gárda report.

3. Particulars of the penal servitude cases in which remissions were granted.

During the period covered by this answer remissions were granted in five penal servitude cases. Short particulars of these cases are as follows:—

Case No. 1.—Sentence of five years penal servitude. After the prisoner had served nine months of his sentence, the Minister for Justice received information which satisfied him that the prisoner was innocent and had been convicted in error. The trial judge was consulted and agreed. The prisoner was immediately released. Subsequently a formal document was issued to him confirming his innocence, and compensation was paid to him.

Case No. 2.—Sentence of ten years' penal servitude. After the prisoner had served more than a year of his sentence, the Minister for Justice, following representations made to him, caused a special inquiry to be made into the circumstances of the case, as a result of which he came to the conclusion that there were such serious doubts as to the prisoner's guilt that he should be released. The trial judge was consulted; he agreed, and the prisoner was released accordingly, having served about 20 months of his sentence.

(It may be observed that these two cases were of a very unusual kind. They are, in fact, so far as is known, the only cases of the kind on record since 1922).

Case No. 3.—Sentence of three years' penal servitude. After the prisoner had served four months of his sentence it was certified that he was suffering from a disease which was probably incurable and which rendered him an unfit subject for prison discipline. He was released to hospital. He died seven months afterwards.

Case No. 4.—Sentence of three years' penal servitude. The offence in this case was manslaughter arising out of the driving of a motor car. The prisoner had had an excellent character prior to his conviction and the family circumstances after his conviction were distressing. With the agreement of the trial judge, the Minister ordered release after a year of the sentence had been served.

Case No. 5.—Sentence of three years' penal servitude. The prisoner had been in custody for three months prior to his conviction. With the approval of the trial judge, the Minister allowed this period to reckon as if it had been served after conviction. The prisoner was accordingly released after serving two years, the remaining year being accounted for by allowing the full normal remission for good conduct (nine months) plus the three months referred to above.

4. Remissions in cases of ordinary imprisonment.

Remissions were granted in 119 such cases, viz.:

Sentences of six months or under, 92; sentences over six months but not over one year, 19; sentences of over one year but not over two years, 8. (Sentences of over two years' ordinary imprisonment are not imposed; any longer sentence takes the form of penal servitude.)

In each group, the average remission was such that the prisoner served rather more than half the period which he would otherwise have served.

Mr. P.S. Doyle (for Mr. McGilligan)

asked the Minister for Justice if he will state how many persons have been found guilty by the Special Criminal Courts, or Military Courts or courts-martial, since the beginning of the emergency, giving the numbers of persons in each case who were released without completing their sentence; the offences in case of any remission of sentence; the amount of sentence so remitted; and if he will give the reason for the remission in such cases.

Mr. Boland

The figures will be published in the Official Report. In the cases of persons sentenced by the Special Criminal Court, the power of remission is vested in the Government (Section 33, Offences Against the State Act, 1939). In practice, it is usually exercised on the recommendation of the Minister for Justice. During the period in question, viz., the three years from the 1st September, 1939, to end of August, 1942, the Minister for Justice has generally based his recommendations in such cases on the principle that when the prisoner's offence is substantially that he has been a member of an unlawful organisation, or arises out of such membership and when it is clear that he has severed his connection with that organisation, it is in the public interest to show mercy. The application of that principle in any particular case must, of course, be regulated by considerations such as the age of the offender, his previous career and character, his rank in the organisation, and the extent, if any, to which he has been guilty of specific offences other than membership of an unlawful organisation, and all other relevant circumstances. It is not proposed to state the mitigating circumstances in individual cases.

Following are the figures referred to:

The particulars given are for the period 1st September, 1939, to 31st August, 1942.

No. of persons found guilty by Military Court	8
(Those eight persons were sentenced to death but in four cases the sentences was commuted to penal servitude for life. They are serving their sentences.)
No. of such persons released without completing sentence	Nil
No. of persons found guilty by Special Criminal Court	579
No. of such persons released without completing sentence	37

In these 37 cases the length of sentence, amount of remission and offence for which committed are given below.

Sentence	*Amount of Sentence Remitted	Offence for which committed
12 years	9 years, 11 months	Larceny of arms and ammunition from military stores.
7 years	5 years, 9 months	Conspiracy to murder.
5 years	4 years, 5 months	Illegal possession of firearms.
5 years(7 cases)	4 years, 4 months(7 cases)	Possession of explosives with intent to cause serious damage to property, etc.
5 years	4 years	Induce members of Defence Forces to give military information.
5 years	3 years, 8 months	Illegal possession of firearms.
5 years	3 years, 6 months	Illegal possession of firearms.
5 years(2 cases)	3 years, 3 months(2 cases)	Illegal possession of firearms, etc.
5 years	3 years	Receiving stolen ammunition.
3 years	2 years, 9 months	Illegal possession of firearms.
3 years	2 years, 7 months	Possession of explosives with intent to cause serious injury to property.
3 years)(2 cases)	2 years, 6 months(2 cases)	Possession of explosives with intent to cause serious injury to property.
3 years	1 year, 8 months	Illegal possession of firearms.
2 years(2 cases)	1 year, 10 months	Assault with intent to rob. Illegal possession of firearms, etc.
2 years(2 cases)	1 year, 9 months(2 cases)	Illegal possession of firearms.
18 months	1 year, 4 months	Illegal possession of firearms with intent, etc.
18 months	1 year, 4 months	Setting fire to huts at Internment Camp.
18 months	1 year, 3 months	Membership of an unlawful organisation and possession of incriminating documents.
18 months(2 cases)	1 year, 1 month(2 cases)	Setting fire to huts at Internment Camp.
12 months	11 months	Membership of unlawful organisation.
12 months	8 months	Membership of unlawful organisation.
12 months	6 months	Membership of unlawful organisation and possession of incriminating documents and illegal drilling.
12 months	5 months	Membership of unlawful organisation and illegal drilling.
12 months(3 cases)	3 months(3 cases)	Membership of unlawful organisation and illegal drilling.

(1) No. of persons found guilty by Court Martial	2,110
(2) No. of such persons sentenced to detention	1,550
(3) No. at (2) granted special remission by Ad. Gen.	120

(NOTE.—Special remission not exceeding 28 days was granted, as usual, by the Adjutant General during the Christmas period. A special remission of 30 days was granted to mark the occasion of a visit to the Detention Barracks by the Minister for Defence. 104 of these 120 men were under detention for absence and desertion; the others were committed for miscellaneous offences such as larceny, asleep on post, insubordination, etc.)

(4) No. at (1) sentenced to terms of imprisonment	148
No. of such persons released without completing sentence	4

In these 4 cases the length of sentence, amount of remission and offence for which committed are given below.

Sentence	*Amount of Sentence Remitted	Offence for which committed
(1) 18 months	1 year, 1 month	Desertion from Army, larceny, losing by neglect, arms and ammunition.
(2) 12 months	7 months	Gross indecency.
(3) 12 months	5 months	Desertion.
(4) 12 months	4 months	Larceny of ammunition from Military stores.

*A normal well-conducted prisoner is entitled to remission of one-fourth of a sentence of penal servitude and one-sixth of a sentence of two years or under.