FIVE YEARS? THAT’S NOT JUSTICE
OAP’S family hits out over prison term
THE grieving family of a man torn apart by a farm machine blasted his killer’s five-year sentence yesterday.
Michael Ferris, 64, drove a teleporter into Anthony O’mahony’s car, ripping him to shreds with its metal prongs in Kerry last year. He will walk free by August 2022.
The 73-year-old’s niece Ann O’carroll said: “Our family strongly believe that justice was not served in this case.”
A DEVASTATED family blasted the legal system after a neighbour was jailed for five years over a farmer’s “horrendous” killing.
Michael Ferris, 64, had denied murdering Anthony O’mahony over the prolonged use of a crow banger to scare birds on April 4, 2017.
Enraged by the noise, he “snapped” and ploughed a large forklift-type machine used on farms into the victim’s car, causing horrific injuries.
A jury had found him guilty of manslaughter following defence arguments Ferris was provoked through the constant banging noise.
The accused, of Rattoo, Ballyduff, Co Kerry, had only been in custody since the start of his trial but after automatic remission of 25% is taken into account on his five-year sentence, is likely to be a free man again by August 2022.
Ann O’carroll, Anthony’s grieving niece, spoke on behalf of the family outside the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
She said: “Our family strongly believe that justice was not served in this case.
“The crime was clearly deliberate and premeditated as outlined during the trial.
“This pain was made worse by the blackening of Anthony’s good name and character during the trial when he was not there to defend himself.
“And now our pain has been exacerbated by the lenient sentence imposed today.”
The trial heard Ferris, furious over the constant noise, flipped and killed Mr O’mahony.
He repeatedly rammed the prongs of a teleporter into the 73-year-old man’s car – stabbing him to death with the huge metal spikes.
Assistant state pathologist Margaret Bolster had told the trial Mr O’mahony sustained at least five massive stab wounds from the teleporter, two of which went straight through him.
His body was repeatedly bashed by the ramming and stabbing movement of the teleporter – his skull, ribs, back and pelvis were all smashed.
The trial had heard during interviews with gardai Ferris had declared: “I just snapped. I had to do something about it and I blocked the road with the teleporter.”
Ferris said as he carried out work he heard a car beeping – he “supposed” it was his target and he went to the farm machinery to launch his attack.
He added: “I sat up on the teleporter, I did not talk to him, there is no point talking to him.”
Ferris said “nothing good” was going through his mind before the killing.
He explained: “He had to be stopped one way or another because that couldn’t go on any longer.” He told gardai his plan from the outset was to plunge the forks through the deceased’s car.
The crux of the case involved a gas or crow banger, a device used by farmers to scare scavenging birds from their fields as they grow corn and other cereals. It can be timed to set off a gas powered blast every few minutes. Ferris had claimed the banger was a regular feature of life in the area for 30 years and he had enough.
The court had heard neighbours had described it “like a bomb going off ” and it made an incredibly loud and startling noise.
Ms Justice Carmel Stewart spoke of the brutal injuries suffered by Mr
O’mahony.
She said: “He suffered horrific, horrendous injuries.
“The nature of the attack was truly gruesome and horrific and defies belief and imagination.”
Judge Stewart sentenced Ferris to six years, with 12 months suspended. She had a message for the O’mahony family, adding: “The court is constrained by previous cases and court principles that the court is constitutionally mandated to abide by. This is not to diminish your grief.”
The O’mahony family, sitting together in court, hugged and shook their heads as Judge Stewart passed
Relatives blast legal system over farmer’s horrific death
sentence. Ferris, wearing a grey threepiece suit with an open neck shirt, showed no emotion as he was jailed.
The O’mahony family were left devastated and stood arm in arm as Ms O’carroll read a prepared statement.
She said: “The trial was a deeply distressing and painful ordeal for our family.
“Our brother, uncle and friend was taken from us in the most brutal and violent way possible.
“The defence legal team’s use of alleged provocation in this case allowed the jury to return a conviction for the lesser charge of manslaughter. To our family it felt like [provocation] was justification for the killing of Anthony and as a result we believe it denigrates the value of Anthony’s life.
“Victim blaming occurs daily in other court cases in Ireland and this is clearly another example of it in our criminal justice system.
“We would like to thanks the guards, our neighbours, family and friends for their support during this difficult time.
“We are devastated at the loss of Anthony and we will never recover from this.”
Victim blaming occurs daily.. this is another example
ANN O’CARROLL
DUBLIN YESTERDAY