This is a case that sends out a message to all of us, including me, about jumping to conclusions.
In 1997, Michael Feichin Hannon was convicted of sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl, and spent the next nine years in jail. He was 23, a lad at the height of his life, and he should have been enjoying every second of his youthful exuberance.
Instead, he was flung into prison on the basis of lies from the mouth of a child. According to the court at the time, 10-year-old Una Hardester's testimony was conspicuous for its graphic and coherent uses of medical and anatomical terms, and I imagine this was one of the reasons for Hannon's conviction and severe sentence.
[Update: I'm advised that Michael Hannon did not spend time in jail. My mistake. However, this is not relevant to the injustice inflicted on him as a result of perjury, and is likewise not relevant to the point of this post]
In 2006, Una Hardester returned from the USA and admitted that the accusation was invented. The accusation was made because Michael Hannon was a member of a family in dispute with her own family about rights of way. He was “one of the Hannonsâ€.
According to Ms Hardester: I did something terribly wrong and I got away with it. Other people paid a heavy price. I want to clear his name now.
For being one of the Hannons, Michael spent nine years in jail.
Today, Michael Hannon had his conviction declared a miscarriage of justice, but he didn't achieve this easily. The State opposed his application every inch of the way, saying it had done nothing wrong, but finally the Court of Criminal Appeal accepted his argument.
Michael Hannon was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
He is an innocent man who did no wrong.
Now, it seems to me that a number of questions jump up and hit you in the face.
Una Hardester gave evidence conspicuous for its graphic and coherent uses of medical and anatomical terms.
How?
She was not sexually assaulted, so how did a ten-year-old girl acquire such detailed knowledge? Did somebody prompt her? Did somebody coach her? If so, shouldn't that somebody be prosecuted and made to spend at least as much time in jail as Michael Hannon did?
Shouldn't that person also be prosecuted for child abuse?
And since the State is now proven to have inflicted a miscarriage of justice on an innocent man, who exactly was responsible for taking away nine years of a young man's life, apart from those who coached a young child to tell evil lies?
He was not in jail for 9 years. He was given a four year suspended sentence.
He did however have to suffer the stigma and social exclusion that goes with being a convicted sex offender.
Thanks for the correction.
However, he was convicted of a crime he did not commit and as you say, he was branded as a sexual offender, even though he had done nothing wrong.
Even the accusation of a sexual offence like this fucks up your whole life. Its worse than a major jail sentence for theft, trespass or fraud. The length of jail time is not the worst thing that could come out of this.
Also, Irish people (and I don't want to offend anybody here!) can get so fucked up around land disputes. When my family came to Ireland to purchase and develop a hotel, farmers nearby were adjusting their fences and boundaries to snake into ours in the hope of bringing about an adverse possession claim years later.
A bit like Israeli settlements in Palestinian land?
No prob Bock. Maybe an edit of the original post might be a good idea.
Agree with your sentimenets too about how horrendous it must have been for him.
Awful awful case
The details of his conviction and punishment in the original post are only incidental. The fact that he was convicted on false evidence is the relevant point. I might put in a paragraph explaining that Michael didn't do time, but it hardly makes a difference to the injustice inflicted on him.
Bock not to worry it is just about Land
From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided Bock not to worry it is just about Land
From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided
teen girls can be a problem?
Gary — Could you clarify what that has to do with Michael Hannon's conviction on fabricated evidence?
Opps system problems .
Bock in 1692 some girls decided that People were Witches. As a result these People were hanged .After ten years of guilt on the part of the entity causing such destruction to a life? Yeah right.
would a ten year old come up with the idea herself of making such a false statement? hhmmmm, i'm not convinced either…. is there any law in this country to say that if a false stement leads to a conviction that person can be prosecuted? i would pursue whoever if anyone planted the seed in her head to be honest….
The time line here is from January '97, when the charge was placed by the then 10 year old girl. The girl was 12 when Michael was tried and then convicted.
But why, when in '06 the charge was removed by the woman did the DPP not inform all involved.
All it really serves to do is encourage doubt to be cast upon genuine victims of abuse, which is the silent crime here.
True. It does that as well as destroying the lives of innocent people.
I'd still like to know how a ten-year-old child came into possession of the graphic details given in evidence.
Is this her?
http://www.aidemocracy.org/bios_staff.php
Ya know in Ireland we seem to love the gore of sexual accusations and it would seem that killing someone is nothing compared to having sex with someone. Having spent a long time as "the accused" in a similar case I know that there are a lot who plead guilty to try and get a lesser charge even if they are innocent – cheaper for the state not to have a trial!!
If it is her, I love the
"I'm very, very, very honest" on http://profile.myspace.com/71773316 !!
Bock and all apologies. Microsoft and Google are fighting for control of my browser.
Michael Feichin Hannon's 1999 conviction was overturned earlier this year after the girl, Una Hardester, of Aughrismore, Cleggan, Co Galway, admitted nine years later that she had made up the allegation.
Michael's life has been destroyed on the word of a ten year old lie. She never even spoke to the Man. This case may rot the minds of jurors in real cases of child abuse. Now that she has “confessed†all is forgiven and She shall trip off into her future life cleansed. The thing that groomed her for the case shall also walk free. What a wonderful World!
Its ridiculous really that someone can be convicted solely on the word of another person (I assume that is the case here). As someone who advocates strong punishment for rapists, I think it is essential that there is REAL evidence in order to convict, and the reasonable doubt principle should apply. Rape and murder are often spoken of side by side as two of the most serious crimes against the person. You wouldn't convict of murder based on word of mouth alone, so why for rape?
The law should be changed on foot of this, it wont happen though. Remember that woman Nora Wall in Waterford? She was similarly accused and convicted solely on the basis of outrageous lies. It should never have been allowed to happen again. Finally, I think the penalties for perjury should be very harsh where the stakes are high, in cases such as this.
Did she voluntarily elect to tell the truth? If so then the myspace comments hold true. A child 10-12 years of age is not culpabale for her actions. When she grew up she realised the difference between right and wrong and did what she could to rectify it – I find it hard to say but she should be applauded for her actions, but as for the cretinous excuse for a human being that made her do it? nine actual years in jail – no less.
I'm inclined to think that Una Hardester has shown considerable courage in coming forward. An adult should not be punished for their actions as a 10-year-old child.
However, I simply can't believe that this child acted alone.
I agree that the girl has shown a conscience and courage. It would be an exceptional 10 year old that would stand up to adults and refuse to lie, so she cant really be culpable for her actions in 1997. Owen is right, 9 years would not be too harsh for those who put her up to it.
What proportion of adults would have the morality and courage to make amends as this woman has? 50%? 20%? 10? Makes you wonder how many other innocents are out there who wont have their convictions quashed.
She waited too long to get her attack of conscience and should be charged with perjury and jailed. Not jailed for lying when she was ten but jailed for maintaining the lie
when she was old enough to know her lies as a minor had destroyed a man's life. I heard Hannon on the radio today and no one has come near him from the government, the liars family, the DDP, tha Gardai, or the legal profession with an apology for their part in this appaling miscarriage of justice. Hannon sounded remarkably restrained.
@Gary
Do you ever read the stuff you comment on?
to accuse someone of that crime is a terrible thing to do. Can you imagine ten years of your life ruined for something you didn't do. I think some investigating needs to be done. If Una was coached she sure had some sick 'coachers' who should go to jail for a very long time. Imagine putting someone through that for a fu3king piece of land. God I don't think I'd ever recover from that.
Benny what are you on? Watever it is bad for you give it up
@Gary
Message.
A bad position for anyone to find themselves in. Only Una can give complete clarification; plus the full story. If she survives the publicity this ruling will bring to her.
It is uncertain that an adult coached the 10 year old as children can and do truly horrible things. Remember Bulger.
Hopefully the Hannons and the Hardesters will will get themselves sorted.
Stuff like this destroys. No question about it.
As for the legal processes, remember that it is never accepted in the legal mindset that they may do harm. Recall the 'Appalling Vista' statement from the brit judge who refused the appeal of the Guildford four while ensuring that the evidence could not be seen publicly at the time.
In Ireland, the same mindset exists. Take it from one that knows.
Bock
Just saw this report of a study that shows Ireland has one of the highest rates of false rape allegations in Europe.
http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/ireland/ireland-has-one-of-highest-rates-of-false-rape-allegations-408765.html
Shocking, absolutely shocking. So many lives ruined. Never mind the fact that they muddy the waters for genuine cases.
@ Mark
Money makes the world go around……….
I have known Una most of her adolescence and all of her adult life. She is one of the most principled persons I know. She is also one of the most intelligent caring people on the planet and her own worst critic, assuming responsibility for every injustice in the world, especially if she perceives she might have done something about it.
At age 9 she was caught up in a cycle of violence at home and in the neighborhood with a long standing, violent land dispute going on that a 9 year old from the USA could not have possibly understood, no matter how bright they might be. Her father, an Irishman, literally bought into this feud.
At age 9 did she suffered some physically traumatic incident discovered by a neighbor that put her into the juvenile criminal court system. By today's standards everything involving her case was botched from the get go. Evidence was lost, no medical examination until many days later and on and on. While being questioned she told the officers she could not remember any details so they offered possible scenarios (as was the practice then) until she agreed to one. During the trial, before her “testimony†she was shown a copy of this “deposition†and reminded of her “storyâ€.
Her mother (an American) finally had an opportunity to escape the violence with the children taking them to the relative safety of the US where they tried to correct this miscarriage of justice. Irish law would not allow them to testify from the US and they could not return to Ireland. It was only when she was in college, during an extended internship helping Bosnian war victims that she was finally able to go to Ireland and correct this injustice. True to her character she did this on her own and and has not blamed anyone but herself for any thing that has happened. She is judging herself, at 10 years old, from an adult perspective and persecuting herself for being too weak and timid to stand up to the injustices she saw at the time.
For more details about the circumstances surrounding this whole mess I'd suggest reading her mother's statement at http://unahardestersmotherspeaks.blogspot.com/
All of the parties concerned were caught up in a generations old cycle of disagreement and violence domestic and public, and a bureaucratic system that was insufficient to the circumstances.
Una is a champion for correcting injustices around the world and is a part of the solution to break the cycles of violence that are all around us. She is not the source of the injustice.
It takes someone of Una's courage to speak up and interrupt the unexamined cycles of violence and injustice that permeate the world. She did not have to speak up and it is just not in her to stay silent about any injustice she becomes aware of even if it puts her at risk. Anyone who knows her, has worked with her or had her stand up for them will attest to her true character. She should not be judged too harshly for the momentary failure of a 10 year old to speak up against the injustice of the adult world.
In this case, the "system" failed everyone concerned.
I do not accept that the 'system' failed anybody or the excuses being put forward in defence of Una Hardester. The real culprits are the so-called 'child savers' whose dogma is "there is no such thing as a false accusation of rape incest or child sexual abuse. The media in Ireland must shoulder their part of the blame in the creation of a child sex abuse industry by using exaggerated comments and statistics put out by special interest groups such as the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the CARI Foundation and the ISPCC.
Excuses in defence of a ten-year-old child? What defence does a child require?
The demonisation of her father. He has been painted as a monster. I wonder what his story is. We only have the mother's version of events!
BTW Bock, will the DPP be held accountable as the Gardai gave them plenty of notice of the retractions of Ms Hardester?
I have just been to crown court twenty years after I was sexually assaulted, I was ten when it happened..
He was found innocent on all four counts and I have to live with the knowledge he did some bad stuff and gets to walk away whilst I feel like Im a victim all over again. I dont understand the justice system.. I dont understand at all. I hope all accused get cock rot and it falls off as theres no smoke without fire.
I'm sorry to hear that, Kate, but let me clarify one thing.
Are you saying that all accused are guilty?
No Bock, Just the one I accused..