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AN IRISHMAN WITH severe learning difficulties serving a life sentence for murder in a Northern Irish prison has lost an appeal on his conviction at a European court.
Matthew O’Donnell (35) was convicted for murdering a 30-year-old man in Co Tyrone more than decade ago, after being arrested in the Republic and extradited to the North.
According to the judgement published by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) today, O’Donnell has an IQ that places him in the bottom 1% of the population, and his understanding of English is equivalent to that of a six-year-old child.
His defence had attempted for this to be deemed reason for O’Donnell not to testify in his 2004 murder trial, something which the judge refused.
The judge said he could inform the jury to draw an adverse inference if O’Donnel did not testify, as they believed testimony could have been given in “such a way that no unfairness would result”.
O’Donnell appeal also hinged on videotaped interviews conducted with gardaí prior to this extradition, which were excluded from evidence in his trial.
The judge in his case had not allowed a clinical psychologist, who gave evidence on O’Donnell’s learning difficulties, to share his observations on the taped interviews.
On both these points, the ECtHR ruled there had been no violation of O’Donnell’s right to a fair trial.
O’Donnell now has three months to request the case be given further consideration at Grand Chamber hearing.
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Still had a high enough iq to leg it across the border
He is from castlemaine in Kerry so he was going home. He probably doesn’t even know what a border is never mind where it is.
Murder is murder no matter how high or low his IQ is! Do the crime then do the time, my guess is that guy is probably best kept in an institutional setting anyway.
Prison might not be the most appropriate institutional setting though
The case stinks to high heaven. IQ of a 6 year old and not being allowed to show evidence for the defence.
The knee jerk reactions and utter stupidity on show here sometimes is truly amazing. Good job we don’t still have hanging, otherwise the laptop Judge Roy Beans would have em’ all hanged.
Why don’t any of the do gooders ever mention the victim or the victims family who have to live with what happened.
We should be more concerned with the innocent victims of crime not the feeling of the criminal.
I would like to know how they came up with that figure. Learning disabilities are separate from IQ. At the bottom 1% of IQ he would be institutionalised and require help to wash and dress!
Yes prison is quite the wrong place for this man.
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