After a man had been given a 10-year prison sentence for a fatal stabbing, Mr Justice Barry White suspended eight years of the sentence for the manslaughter conviction after making a number of observations about sentencing policy.
Valerij Makarov (25), also known as Andris Simonis, Lucan, Co Dublin, had been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a jury last December by a majority verdict.
At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday, Mr Justice White said he had a "particular view and attitude" regarding the number of fatal stabbings which had occurred in this jurisdiction. "I have taken a view that a deterrent sentence ought to be handed out," he said.
This was a view, he added, that did not seem to be shared by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Mr Justice White told the court that he did not want this sentence to create a precedent of "going soft" on fatal stabbings. The jury had concluded that Makarov was acting in self-defence.
However, sight could not be lost ofthe fact that the force used was "disproportionate and excessive vis-a-vis the threat offered by the deceased".
Makarov had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Tomas Lukosevicious (30), in May 2003 in Lucan. He had also pleaded not guilty to causing intentional or reckless serious harm to Aldevinias Gudavicious (34) and to threatening to harm Jonas Bernotas (21), on the same date in Lucan.
In December he was found guilty of causing harm, a charge reduced from causing serious harm. Makarov was also found not guilty of threatening to harm.
Yesterday Mr Justice White said he had to take into consideration when sentencing Makarov's circumstances, taking into regard the hardship that his family would suffer by his incarceration.
"I must have regard to your previous good character and that you are obviously a devoted and dedicated family man," he said.
It seemed to him that in a case of this nature where the accused man's home had been invaded by a number of persons a 10-year sentence would be appropriate.
However, taking into account Makarov's circumstances, he proposed to suspend eight of those 10 years on his entry into a bond to be of good behaviour for the period of suspension.
For the charge of causing harm, Makarov was sentenced to 18 months to run concurrently.
Defending counsel Hugh Hartnett said Makarov had been a perfect citizen at the time of the fatal stabbing and that he had not set out to do wrong. His character was a most exceptional one to become before the courts, and he was dedicated family man.
Marie O'Malley, an IT lecturer who taught Makarov, said he was dedicated to improving his life and was anxious to get on the best he could to provide a home for his wife and children.
During the trial the court heard that on May 11th, 2003, Makarov spent the day at the zoo with his family and later went to a friend's house, where he began to receive a series of threatening calls on his mobile phone.
When he returned to his home in Lucan, a car in his driveway, belonging to his sister-in-law, had a cement block smashed through the windscreen and lights smashed.
"We all had a shock," he said. "If they can come in the middle of the day and break our lights, they could come in and kill us at night."
Makarov made three phone calls to gardaí to report the incident, waiting at home for them to arrive. The jury heard that about 10pm that night the front door was kicked in and a man confronted Makarov in his kitchen, threatening him.
Makarov told the court he was cornered in the kitchen and reached for a knife out of a drawer "just to pinch him so he would feel pain and go away".
Makarov described the knife as "going into empty" as he was trying to reach his attacker.
Mr Bernotas and Mr Lukosevicious were outside the house and saw some of the incident through the window, when they also kicked in the door. An altercation ensued in the hallway, where Makarov was still holding the kitchen knife. He had said he was trying to get the men away from his sister-in-law and young child.
The court heard how one of the men slipped outside the house while the other ran off and was chased by Makarov to a neighbour's front gate.
"I told him I would kill him if he came back to my house," Makarov had said in a Garda interview viewed by the jury.