Two Sligo men who beat an American writer to "within an inch of his life" have been each sentenced to eight years in prison. Glen Mahon (22), of Banks Drive, Cranmore, Sligo, and Ian Monaghan (21) of Ashbrook, Pearse Road, Sligo, were found guilty after a five-day trial last October of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the writer Mr Robert Drake (36) at his house on Holburn Street in Sligo on January 31st last.
At a Circuit Court sitting in Carrick-on-Shannon yesterday, Judge Anthony Kennedy refused leave to appeal the severity of the sentence. He said he would grant leave to appeal only on the issue of whether it was right to receive and accept the verdict of the jury given the way it had been returned.
At the end of the trial Judge Kennedy instructed the jury not to return with anything other than a unanimous verdict within the period set down in law of two hours and 10 minutes. However, the jury returned after one hour and indicated they had reached a 10-to-one majority verdict. The judge said their return was "premature" and instructed them to retire again. When they returned a second time after 90 minutes, a similar verdict was returned and accepted.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Kennedy said the events of January 31st, 1999, were "truly shocking". Mr Drake had been "beaten to within an inch of his life" and for that reason was unable to attend the trial.
The court had earlier heard that Mr Drake would be confined to a wheelchair for several years, if not for life, that his speech was "garbled and crude" and that he would be unlikely to be able to resume his writing career.
Judge Kennedy said he had to take into account the effect of the assault on Mr Drake. "It is plain in brief that he is grievously crippled for life," he said. Mr Drake, he continued, was left in an "appalling state" alone for some 15 hours from the time Mahon and Monaghan left the house at about 5 a.m. until he was discovered by a friend at 8 p.m.
The judge said that while it had not been proven how many blows were struck or whether by fists or an implement, both men were fully liable for all blows struck.
Neither Mahon nor Monaghan gave evidence at the trial, but in statements to gardai they claimed Mr Drake, who is gay, made a sexual advance to Monaghan after he had invited them into his house for drinks. They claimed that only three blows were struck after Mahon returned to the room to find Mr Drake wrestling on the floor with Monaghan.
Judge Kennedy said Mahon's defence of self-defence of his co-accused "cannot wash" as the jury rejected it with their verdict.
He accepted the apologies the men had made in the court on Tuesday but said an offer by Mahon to pay compensation to the victim whenever he got a job was naive, given the enormity of the expense that Mr Drake had and would incur.
An appropriate sentence would be 10 years' imprisonment, he said, but in the light of submissions he would make an allowance of two years. Mahon was sentenced to an additional year, to run concurrently, for the theft of Mr Drake's wallet.
Both men were refused bail pending the appeal. They showed no emotion as the sentence was passed, but members of their families burst into tears, expressing shock at the length of the sentences.