Courts

Adjournment granted for bid to withdraw murder-guilt plea

Counsel tells judge of instruction to have guilty plea vacated on grounds client was not in fit state

Kenneth Cummins (28), with an address at Ringsend Park, Dublin 4, pleaded not guilty to murdering Thomas Horan (63) at Cambridge Court, Ringsend on January 6th, 2014, but four weeks into his Central Criminal Court trial he changed his plea to guilty. File photograph: Collins Courts

Tue Dec 1 2015 - 01:00

A Dublin man has been granted an adjournment until next year for a “breathtaking” application to withdraw his guilty plea for murdering a “mentally challenged” 63-year-old man.

Kenneth Cummins (28), with an address at Ringsend Park, Dublin 4, pleaded not guilty to murdering Thomas Horan (63) at Cambridge Court, Ringsend on January 6th, 2014, but four weeks into his Central Criminal Court trial he changed his plea to guilty.

On November 20th, Giollaiosa Ó Lideadha SC told Mr Justice Tony Hunt he had been instructed to have his client's plea of guilty vacated on the grounds that he was not in a fit state to make the plea on November 11th.

At the time, prosecution counsel Remy Farrell SC said this application was "breathtaking" and no more than "a stroke" by Mr Cummins.

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Mr Cummins's sister Sabrina Cummins was handed down a life sentence for the murder of Thomas Horan on November 20th last.

Client’s application

In court yesterday, Mr Ó Lideadha asked for an adjournment for his client’s application in connection to withdrawing his guilty plea from December 7th until next year.

Counsel said a psychiatrist engaged by the defence had advised that if his client was suffering from panic attacks at the time the plea was entered, this could be relevant to the question of whether he was fit to plead at the time and asked for a date not before the middle of January.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said he had “reservations” regarding the application, and it was a “bit much”.

However the judge acknowledged that counsel was acting in accordance with his professional obligations at all times, including when counsel sought to delay the entry of the plea on November 11th due to his concerns about the capacity of Mr Cummins to make a rational decision.

“I don’t regard this as having a degree of urgency and courts are here to deal with applications,” said the judge.

Mr Justice Hunt then said he would put the application for Kenneth Cummins, who was not present in court today, in for February 1st.

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