Sentence upheld for man who tried to have wife killed
The Court of Criminal Appeal has upheld the seven-year sentence imposed on a man who twice tried to have his estranged wife killed.
Patrick Rafferty, a haulier, Ballina, Co Tipperary, who offered an undercover garda €15,000 to kill his wife by faking a road accident, had appealed the severity of the sentence imposed on him earlier this year.
Today, the three-judge CCA of Ms Justice Fidelma Macken presiding, sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Murphy and Mr Justice Eamon De Valera rejected Rafferty's appeal.
Last January, at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed a sentence of seven years on Rafferty (aged 40).
Rafferty pleaded guilty to soliciting Det garda Patrick Crowley to murder his wife, Mary Rafferty, on February 7, 2005, at an area between the Five Alleys public house, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, and Daly's Cross, Castleconnell, Co Limerick.
Counsel for Rafferty Mr Michael O'Higgins SC said that the appeal was being brought on the grounds including that Mr Justice Carney had erred by not taking all the mitigating facts raised by the defence counsel fully into consideration, such as Rafferty's previous good character, his plea of guilty and his genuine remorse.
Counsel argued that the seven year sentence was excessive in the circumstances.
Opposing the appeal Counsel for the DPP Ms Rosario Boyle SC said that no error in principle had occurred, and that the sentence should stand.
Counsel told the court that this was a case where Rafferty had been caught red handed. In addition he had made more than one attempt to kill his wife.
In rejecting the appeal Ms Justice Macken said that the sentence imposed did not appear out of order in any way or unduly severe. "In the Court's view," the Judge said, "it would be inappropriate to interfere with the sentence" imposed by Mr Justice Carney.
Ms Justice Macken said that before Rafferty sought to hire somebody to kill his wife, she had taken money out of a joint bank account, and had brought certain matters to the attention of the revenue commissioners.
That resulted in a judgment of €20,000 being registered against him.
The court also noted that the father-of-three offered the detective €15,000 and indicated that he could probably come up with another €5,000.
Rafferty suggested to the undercover garda that he stage a road traffic incident in which he would "run her car off the road".
Rafferty told the garda that if this was not successful, he was to "do her neck in" at which point he made a choking gesture. This was not the first time that Rafferty had attempted to solicit somebody to kill his wife.
Five months earlier he paid €8,000 to a well-known criminal who "saw him as a soft touch" and ripped him off.
The court heard that this earlier attempt was admitted by Rafferty during a series of interviews which followed his arrest on February 7, 2005.
