December 08,2015 01:00 AM
Kayla Hertz @irishcentral
Henry Gleeson, who was framed for the murder of his neighbor, is Ireland’s first ever posthumous pardon.
UPDATE: Ireland's Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald announced on April 1 that Harry Gleeson, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and hanged 74 years ago, will receive an official pardon from the Irish government.
“The Government deeply regrets that a man was convicted and executed in circumstances now found to be unsafe. All that can be done now by way of remedy is to clear his name of the conviction, which this pardon will do, in the hope that this will be a proper tribute to his memory,” read a statement from the Department of Justice.
“Equally the Government regrets that this decision leaves unresolved the brutal murder of Ms Mary McCarthy, whose children were deprived of their mother in terrible circumstances.”
President Michael D. Higgins will be able to issue a pardon, as outlined by Article 13.6 of the Irish Constitution.
Read the full, sad story of Harry Gleeson and Mary McCarthy:
On Tuesday January 23rd 1883 Sylvester Poff And James Barrett were hanged at Tralee Prison "Carpenters were brought from Dublin under police protection to build the scaffold, and Marwood (the hangman) was given an armed escort back to the station. The real killers
were never brought to trial, but, as with most things that happen in the Irish countryside, their identities were known. It was believed locally that they were Jack 'Cathy' Connor and George Twiss".
The full story was published in The old Limerick Journal
Wonder if a pardon would be possible for them? I have a personal interest as these men appear on my family tree.