AN ATTEMPT by the DPP to appeal the “undue leniency” of a sentence given to an “extremely vulnerable” woman was described by the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday as “extraordinary” and “without precedent”.
The three-judge appeal court held that in the “unique circumstances” of the case, there was “no ground whatsoever” in which to review the term, and that it did not consider the term imposed as “even lenient”.
In July 2009, Josefina Perez Liriano (49), from the Dominican Republic, was jailed for five years with the final 3½ suspended after she pleaded guilty to importing cocaine at Dublin airport on August 21st, 2008.
Her then teenage son Miguel, who accompanied her from the Netherlands to Ireland, was given an 11-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to having drugs for sale or supply.
Both had swallowed cocaine pellets, worth almost €45,000, before flying to Ireland.
At the opening of yesterday’s hearing, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, presiding, sitting with Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne and Mr Justice George Birmingham, asked the State to “consider its position” in light of Liriano’s “remarkable personal circumstances”.
Lawyers for the State told the court the DPP was appealing the sentence because insufficient weight was given to the mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, which applied to drugs cases of this nature.
Following arguments from the State, the court said it did not wish to hear from lawyers representing Liriano, and adjourned the case to consider its decision.
Dismissing the State’s appeal, the court refused to interfere with the sentence imposed.
It said there were “more than ample circumstances” entitling Judge Desmond Hogan of the Dublin Circuit Court to take into account mitigating circumstances.
It said there was “no advantage” in asking that this woman of “extraordinary disadvantage” be brought back to Ireland to serve a higher sentence.