President Higgins formally pardons two men wrongfully convicted of murder 142 years ago
by Ruairi Scott Byrne · Irish MirrorTwo men wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Co Kerry landlord more than 140 years ago have received a rare posthumous presidential pardon from President Michael D Higgins.
Sylvester Poff and his first cousin James Barrett were convicted of the murder of Thomas Browne at his farm in Dromoultan in October 1882.
Mr Poff and Mr Barrett were tried twice before special juries in Cork over the murder and despite pleas for mercy, they were executed by hanging at Tralee Gaol in January 1883.
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However, an expert report found that there was no direct evidence against the two men and that the case rested on the circumstantial and contradictory evidence of a single witness, who changed her story as the case progressed.
The witness said she saw two men dressed in dark coats entering the field before Mr Browne was shot several times. Mr Poff and Mr Barrett, who did not match the descriptions of the assailants, were known to be in the vicinity at the time and were arrested.
An external review of the case by Dr Niamh Howlin, an expert in 19th Century trial law, led to the Government recommending to President Higgins that he exercise his right to pardon.
Dr Howlin's examination concluded that a number of factors, including in the investigation and procedures around the trial, led her to form the opinion that the trials and conviction of Mr Poff and Mr Barrett included legal and procedural deficiencies which were ‘so inconsistent with the legal standards of the period and so objectively unsatisfactory and unfair, that they render the conviction unsafe’.
In line with articles 13.6 and 13.9 of the Constitution, President Michael D. Higgins signed two Presidential Pardons during a ceremony at Arás an Uachtaráin on Wednesday afternoon, which was attended by descendants of the two men.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Higgins said: “The case of Sylvester Poff and James Barrett has been one of long standing concern for the people of Kerry.
"As Dr Niamh Howlin’s report has found, there was a strong local belief in the innocence of Poff and Barrett, both before and after their execution.
"The newspaper United Ireland reported that ‘From one end of the county to the other the strongest belief prevails that they were guiltless.’
"This was also evident in the memorials submitted to the Lord Lieutenant from bodies including the Tralee Town Commissioners, the Tralee Poor Law Guardians, the Killarney Town Commissioners and the Listowel Town Commissioners before the executions seeking to have their sentences commuted.
"While we at this remove cannot undo what happened, we do have the power to acknowledge that what happened to Sylvester Poff and James Barrett was a great wrong.
"I am pleased to be able to formally grant a Presidential Pardon to each of the men today, and to at least set the record straight. I hope that my doing so will bring a sense of closure to their families following almost 142 years.
"I commend the families of both men and the members of the Castleisland District Heritage Group for their efforts to bring their case to public attention and their help in bringing the process of obtaining a pardon to fruition.”
Today’s Presidential Pardons are only the seventh and eighth such pardons which have been granted and the fourth and fifth posthumous pardons.
The previous posthumous pardons were awarded by President Higgins to Harry Gleeson in 2015, to Maolra Seoighe (Myles Joyce) in 2018 and to John Twiss in 2021.
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