Court overturns ruling in Pringle damages claim
THE Court of Appeal has overturned a decision to strike out a claim for damages brought by Peter Pringle, who served almost 15 years in prison before his conviction for the murder of two gardaí during a bank robbery was quashed.
Mr Pringle had been sentenced to death for the murder of gardaí John Morley and Henry Byrne but his sentence was later commuted to 40 years’ imprisonment. He had served 14 years and 10 months when his conviction was deemed unsafe by the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1995.
Mr Pringle claims the State was negligent and breached his constitutional rights because crucial evidence was not disclosed to him before his trial at the non-jury Special Criminal Court, which convicted him of the murder of both gardaí during a bank robbery in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, in July 1980.
The High Court ruled in 2019 that his claim for compensation should be struck out on the grounds of unreasonable delay. But the Court of Appeal said the scope of the issues in the case must be clearly decided before the High Court can rule whether the State has been prejudiced by the delay. The case will now return to the High Court.