Madam, – Advic would like to express our revulsion at the release on bail of convicted killer Eamonn Lillis pending sentence (Front page, January 30th). We believe it shows once more the biased approach of the Irish criminal justice system when it comes to not just victims and their families but society in general.
Mr Lillis has had over a year to “tidy up his affairs” and so it is a travesty to state that he would need an hour, let alone a week to organise his financial and other related matters. The message that such judicial understanding and leniency sends out to the general public is that there is one law for the offender, another for the victim.
Advic is calling for the Government to bring legislation before the Oireachtas without delay to ensure those accused of homicide are barred from applying for bail pending trial. There have been too many examples of killers and violent offenders re-offending while on bail to delay this. Furthermore, post conviction, it goes against the core of established legal notions of fairness and natural justice to afford those convicted of our most serious crimes the luxury of freedom notwithstanding their guilt before a judge and jury.
We call for fairness and justice for offenders, victims and their families. It is now well past time that the scales of justice were recalibrated in Ireland. – Yours, etc,