A 43-year-old man with a history of violent offending, who punched, kicked and stamped a homeless man to death, has argued that his sentencing judge was not entitled to send him to prison for life to protect society from him.
Christopher O’Sullivan, of no fixed abode but originally from Kerry, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court in Cork in 2023 for his role in the killing of Timothy Hourihane.
James Brady, of Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, Cork, was also convicted of manslaughter for his role in the killing. Brady was jailed for 11 years.
O’Sullivan’s trial heard that he had taken a cocktail of cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs and alcohol before the attack. Sentencing Judge Paul McDermott described the assault as “shocking, unrelenting and savage” before imposing a term of life imprisonment.
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On Friday, barrister Michael Bowman, for O’Sullivan, told the three-judge Court of Appeal that despite the level of violence used, O’Sullivan’s offending did not fall into the worst category, according to sentencing guidelines adopted by the higher courts. He noted that there was no premeditation and O’Sullivan did not use a weapon other than his hands and feet.
Bowman said the correct headline sentence based on the nature of the offence would have been between 15 and 18 years. However, he said McDermott had pushed it into the most serious category after considering O’Sullivan’s previous convictions, including one for an assault in which the victim suffered serious head injuries.
Bowman said courts in the Republic have rejected the “three strikes and you’re out” principle used in the United States, whereby a person is sentenced to life because of their history of offending. He said it was not permitted for the judge to push the offending into the most serious category based on a desire to protect the public.
Bowman also argued that the discrepancy between the sentences imposed on his client and his co-accused was too great and not justified on the evidence.
Donal O’Sullivan, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the sentencing judge had not imposed the life term solely to protect the public. O’Sullivan said the judge had considered all the evidence and found that the killing was “just short of murder”. His 48 previous convictions were a factor, said counsel, and the judge was entitled to take them into account.
O’Sullivan said the judge acted within his discretion and while a different judge may not have taken the same approach, there is no basis for the Court of Appeal to intervene.
Judge John Edwards, sitting with Judge Isobel Kennedy and Judge Tara Burns, reserved judgment.
