|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Death and Executed |
Years Imprisoned: |
|
Year Crime: |
1940 |
Year Convicted: |
1941 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Ireland |
County or Region of Crime: |
Tipperary |
City of Crime: |
New Inn |
Result: |
Pardoned |
Summary of Case: |
"Harry Gleeson was wrongly convicted on February 27, 1941 of the November 22, 1940 murder of Mary "Moll" McCarthy, an unmarried mother of seven, in Tipperary County, Ireland. Gleeson was executed by hanging at Mountjoy Prison on April 23, 1941. Based on new evidence that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence and intimidated witnesses, a petition was submitted in 2014 for the executive pardoning of Gleeson. On April 1, 2015 Ireland's Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald issued a statement expressing her regret at the wrongful conviction and hanging of Harry Gleeson, and that she had petitioned President Michael D. Higgins to exercise his power to formally pardon Gleeson under Article 13.6 of Ireland's Constitution. Gleeson's posthumous pardon will be recorded as the first pardon of its kind in Irish state history. On December 19, 2015 President Higgins posthumously pardoned Gleeson." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Prosecution misconduct of withholding exculpatory evidence and intimidated witnesses. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 19, 2015 Gleeson was granted a posthumous pardon by Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins under Article 13.6 of Ireland's Constitution, based on evidence the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence and intimidated witnesses." |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Justice for Harry Gleeson Group, and Innocence Project Ireland, at Griffith College in Dublin" |
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
|
Age When Released: |
|
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"President grants State's first posthumous pardon to man hanged for murder almost 75 years ago, Breakingnews.ie (Cork, Ireland), December 19, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/president-grants-states-first-posthumous-pardon-to-man-hanged-for-murder-almost-75-years-ago-712227.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Irish man pardoned for murder conviction 74 years after his execution, By Michael Sheils McNamee, The Journal (Dublin, Ireland), April 1, 2015 " |
Information Location 2: |
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/74-old-murder-conviction-overturned-155258665.html#AUh3e3w |
Information Source 3: |
"Harry Gleeson, By Gemma Deery, Irish Innocence Project, February 8, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.innocenceproject.ie/cases/harry-gleeson/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Irish man cleared of murder 74 years after hanging, By Staff writers, The Irish Times, January 10, 2015" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/irish-man-cleared-of-murder-74-years-after-hanging-1.2061693 |
Information Source 5: |
"Minister Fitzgerald announces Government decision to grant a Posthumous Pardon to Harry Gleeson, Press Release, Department of Justice and Equality, April 1, 2015" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PR15000098 |
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org