A 30-year-old woman serving a life sentence for the murder of her husband on January 3rd, 1995 yesterday began her appeal against conviction in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
In October 1996 a jury in the Central Criminal Court found Mrs Norma Cotter guilty of murdering Cpl Garry Cotter (40) at their home at Broomfield West, Midleton, Co Cork. The jury took almost six hours to reach their verdict by a 10-2 majority after a four-day hearing.
Cpl Cotter died from a wound to his right lung from a single shotgun bullet in the chest.
Mrs Cotter alleged she had been hit and kicked out of bed by her husband, who was nagging her about the collection of their son Christopher from her parents' home.
Yesterday Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for Mrs Cotter, said his client had not had a trial in accordance with the law. A note from her solicitor stated he found his client in a distressed condition in the Garda station after he visited her. This was written after she had given a statement to gardai without the benefit of a night's sleep.
This document, which was sought by the defence, was apparently, never found. Although it was referred to during the trial, it had never been produced in evidence.
Furthermore, said Mr MacEntee, the trial judge, Mr Justice Vivion Lavan, had not put the case for the defence to the jury in his summing up although he had referred with great clarity to that of the prosecution.
In her account of what happened, Mrs Cotter had spoken of it being her intent to frighten her husband. She had no intention of killing him. But none of this was alluded to by the trial judge.
Mr MacEntee said the judge in his address to the jury described the definition of "beyond a reasonable doubt" as "something short of moral certainty". This was a gratuitous introduction of an inappropriate concept.
The judge's remarks about intoxication never being a defence to a crime were incomplete and unhelpful. He should have charged the jury that in deciding intent on the part of the accused, they should have regard to the quantity of alcohol consumed by her prior to shooting her husband.
The hearing before Mr Justices Kevin Lynch, Kevin O'Higgins and Patrick Smith was adjourned to resume at a later date.