Castlefin councillor Gary Doherty voices concerns over Jasmine McMonagle's case

Castlefin councillor Gary Doherty has written to the Minister for Justice, Simon Harris in relation to mandatory sentencing for criminals and the hurt the McMonagle family and the wider community are feeling at present.

He was reacting to the sentencing of Richard Burke to 14 years following his conviction for the manslaughter of mother of two, Jasmine McMonagle on January 4, 2019 at Forest Park, Killygordon at the Central Ciminal Court last Monday.

His letter makes it clear that there is a lack of confidence in the current system of dealing with cases like this and calls for mandatory sentencing guidelines for the judiciary to ensure that any person who takes another person's life will face the sentence that they deserve.

He wrote:

"Ordinary people in Ireland should be protected from criminals. We should have confidence that if a person with multiple previous convictions commits a murder, they will be caught, convicted and face the prison sentence that they deserve. Unfortunately, we do not have that confidence right now.

"The sentences being imposed on serious and repeat offenders are inconsistent and far too lenient. Longer sentences need to become the norm for serious and violent crimes. There can be no exceptions.

"I ask that you urgently issue mandatory sentencing guidelines to our judiciary to ensure that any person who takes another person's life will face the sentence that they deserve, in recognition of the heinous crime they have committed.

"This will ensure that those criminals who commit murder/manslaughter will be given a sentence that is a fitting punishment for their crime, rather than lenient sentences for repeat offenders which have become normalised in recent times."

Cllr Doherty added: "Please do this for the ordinary people of Ireland so that we can regain our trust and confidence in our justice system."