I am today placing before both Houses of the Oireachtas a copy of the instrument signed by the President, on the advice of the Government, exercising his right of pardon under Article 13.6 of the Constitution in respect of the conviction of Mr. Harry Gleeson.
Mr. Gleeson was convicted of the murder in November 1940 of Ms. Mary McCarthy. He was sentenced to death and executed on 23 April 1941.
Mr. Gleeson maintained his innocence of this crime at all times, and those who legally represented him remained convinced of his innocence throughout their subsequent careers. I would like to acknowledge the sincere and determined views of the many other persons, not least amongst his family, who shared this conviction over the years. As those who knew him personally passed on, others revisited and researched the case and continued to raise questions regarding the safety of the conviction.
Most recently, on foot of a submission from the Innocence Project Ireland and the Justice for Harry Gleeson Group, the Attorney General directed that the case be subject to final and authoritative review by Mr. Shane Murphy SC. Mr. Murphy's review concluded that in his opinion there were deficiencies in the conviction such as to render it unsafe. On foot of this review, the Government decided to advise the President that he exercise his right of pardon.
Mr. Murphy's examination concluded that, in his opinion, a number of new matters which have come to light, combined with his assessment of the existing features of the evidence given at the trial, led him to form the opinion that Mr. Gleeson's conviction was unsafe.
I have previously set out the specific features cited by Mr. Murphy but wish to do so here again for the sake of completeness.
These combined factors include:
• Inconsistencies pertaining to the medical evidence and the purported time of death. Although there was a degree of uncertainty at the trial surrounding the time of death, the prosecution's case was that Mary McCarthy was murdered on the evening of the 20th November 1940. Mr. Gleeson did not have an alibi for portions of the evening of the 20th November. Mr. Murphy considered that the medical evidence at the trial did not show beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder occurred on the evening of the 20th November but rather it was highly probable that Ms. McCarthy was killed on the 21st November. Mr. Gleeson had an alibi for the 21st November and witness evidence as to Mr. Gleeson's whereabouts on the morning of the 21st would have raised a reasonable doubt as to his guilt.
• A failure by the prosecution to comply with the prosecutorial obligation to assure a fair trial to the accused by taking a decision not to call Mr. and Mrs. Ceasar, the accused's uncle and aunt, to give evidence at the trial. The Ceasars, in whose home Mr. Gleeson lived, were material witnesses in relation to a number of issues in the trial. The Garda file suggests that the Ceasars were considered by the Gardaí to be truthful witnesses but that it was considered preferable that they would be called by the defence, thereby allowing the prosecution to cross-examine them and in so doing, to gain a tactical advantage. The Ceasars did not give evidence at the trial. This fact attracted judicial comment at the latter stages of the trial in a manner which was prejudicial to the accused.
• The apparent non-disclosure to the defence or to the Court and Jury of a Garda statement pertaining to a confrontation which allegedly occurred at the McCarthy’s farm during the Garda investigation between Mr. Gleeson and two of the McCarthy children, which statement, if it had been disclosed to the defence, would have suggested that the confrontation was an artificial construct instigated and staged by the Gardaí, in a manner calculated to unfairly prejudice the accused in the eyes of the jury. The prosecution introduced evidence from a Garda witness in relation to this confrontation which had not been given by the children in their testimony at the trial. The Garda witness evidence did not disclose to the court at trial the true picture of how the confrontation had occurred, and in particular, did not reveal the details of contact by members of An Garda Síochána with two of the children prior to the confrontation, contact which might have prompted the defence to explore whether these witnesses had been coached.
• The failure by the prosecution to introduce evidence in relation to the shotgun register held by the shopkeeper who sold Mr. Ceasar his ammunition. The shotgun register tended not to support the prosecution's case that Mr. Ceasar had, in October 1940, purchased ammunition of a calibre consistent with the type of ammunition used to murder Mary McCarthy. This was material which ought to have been available to the jury.
More generally, Mr. Murphy concluded that, in his opinion, Mr. Gleeson was convicted and executed as a result of a case based on unconvincing circumstantial evidence, and that he considered the issues outlined by him to be grave defects in the administration of justice.
It is a matter of the greatest concern that such grave defects occurred, and the terrible consequences of this failure on the part of our criminal justice system cannot be overstated. As Minister for Justice and Equality, and on behalf of the Government, I wish to express profound sympathy with Mr. Gleeson’s family and deep regret at this miscarriage of justice.
The exercise, on the advice of the Government, by the President of his constitutional power of pardon is the highest remedy available in Irish law in these circumstances. It is an exceptional course of action, never before called upon in a posthumous case, nor after such a passage of time, but it is entirely warranted. The Pardon wholly remits the sentence imposed as if Mr. Gleeson had not been charged or convicted. It has the effect of completely clearing Mr. Gleeson’s name and is intended to make clear that no residual suspicion remains in the eyes of the State. It is our hope that this will be a fitting tribute to his memory, and that by placing this matter on the record of both Houses of the Oireachtas, that this will be publicly and formally recognised for posterity.
I would also like to pause to reflect that this decision leaves unresolved the brutal murder of Ms. Mary McCarthy, whose children were deprived of their mother in appalling circumstances.
The Government wishes to express its sympathy with both families and with all those affected by this crime and the subsequent conviction.
ENDS