Friday, November 10, 2006

Blame the Other Guy

What rights do burglars have? Ever thought about that? If someone breaks into your home, what legal standing do they have when they are hauled into court?

Sounds like a no-brainer, but the Supreme Court in Ireland is actually considering the question. Sure and there's not much doing in such a small country, and the judges with time on their hands....

Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman believes that the rights of burglars is a significant question to ponder. He's gone so far as to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to give his studied opinion on the rights of burglars and those who are being burgled in regard to those burglars. And all because a career criminal's lawyer has come up with a brilliant strategy to get his client off the hook for a murder.

Anthony Barnes broke into Dick Forristal's house while Mr. Forristal was attending the funeral of a local girl who was killed in a terrorist bombing in Turkey. Unfortunately for our man Anthony, his robbing went into extra minutes and Mr. Forristal came home before the stealing was quite finished. Not one to back down when threatened by a knife, Mr. Forristal pulled his own knife and went after Barnes. Sounds like a very simple case of self-defense on Forristal's part, but this is Ireland we're speaking of...the land of saints and scholars and Jesuitical hair-splitters.

Barnes had youth on his side in the fight, and the elderly Mr. Forristal was stabbed to death before the day was done. Simple case, plenty of evidence, and Barnes was sentenced to life in prison. What could anyone argue about with solid proof of guilt? Well, my lord, the accused was acting in self defense. It's all Mr. Forristal's fault for getting his knife in response to my client's knife. The old man should have run away and let Mr. Barnes take what he wanted, and if he had done so, he'd be alive today and my client would be charged with burglary, not murder. Now that's a defense lawyer for you.

So you see, members of the jury, the criminal here is Mr. Forristal. Used unreasonable force, he did, and what choice did my poor, unfortunate client have but to kill his burglary victim, or be killed himself?

Paul O'Higgins of the DPP has pointed out to the justices that Mr. Forristal's murder was an offshoot of the burglary, and killing the man whose house was being robbed was not excusable. In fact, he argued that Forristal had every right to use reasonable force, including lethal force, to protect himself and his home.

If nothing else, you'd have to credit barrister Jeremy Maher with an overabundance of cheek and a remarkable ability to keep a straight face while presenting a farcical argument. The sad thing is, the Supreme Court justices just might buy it.

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