Ex-nun rejects €75k award for being wrongfully convicted of raping girl
The High Court has heard Nora Wall, the former nun wrongly convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl, has turned down an offer of €75,000 by way of compensation.
The 65-year-old is said to have rejected the offer as insufficient and is now seeking aggravated damages against the State over the Director of Public Prosecution's decision to bring the case to trial.
Nora Wall’s conviction was declared a miscarriage of justice in 2005 after an alleged eye witness to the rape later admitted that she had fabricated her testimony.
The court has heard the former nun, who served four days in prison, has rejected a €75,000 offer of compensation and is seeking punitive damages against the State for the DPP’s decision to prosecute her.
As part of her claim she wants the court to order the release of documents revealing any assessments made by the DPP about the credibility of the tainted witness and the alleged victim.
Her lawyers say it ought to have been evident at the time that the woman who made the rape complaint had connived with this witness to secure false corroboration.
The State is opposing the discovery of documents - they also claim that in seeking punitive damages Nora Wall is going beyond the scope of the miscarriage of justice findings.
