John Twiss: Presidential pardon issued for 1895 Cork murder
- Published
John Twiss received the sixth presidential pardon to be issued
A man who was hanged for a murder in County Cork in 1895 has been issued a posthumous pardon by the president of Ireland.
John Twiss, 35, who was from County Kerry, was convicted of the killing of caretaker James Donovan on a farm near Newmarket.
Mr Twiss's family has campaigned that he was innocent.
It is the sixth time a presidential pardon has been issued in Ireland, and the third issued posthumously.
Reports from the time suggest the execution at Cork Prison on 9 February, 1895, was controversial, and prompted a petition for a prerogative of mercy to be issued which attracted 40,000 signatures.
President Michael D Higgins acknowledged that was "a very substantial number to collect at that time in rural Ireland".
He explained that the governor of the prison, the prison chaplain and the jury in the coroner's inquest, all believed that Mr Twiss was innocent.
'A great wrong'
The president's ruling took account of a report by University College Dublin Prof Niamh Howlin, who found there was circumstantial and "flimsy" evidence in the case which had followed a "questionable investigation".
"The problematic aspects of this case are like 'strands in a rope' which together lead to the conclusion that the nature and extent of the evidence against Twiss could not safely support a guilty verdict," she concluded.
On Thursday, Helen O'Connor, a great grandniece of Mr Twiss, was present as his pardon was signed, as well as Ireland's Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee.
The case is the second pardon to be issued for a conviction which happened before the establishment of the state, following the pardon issued to Myles Joyce who was hanged in 1882.
President Higgins said that while the state cannot undo what has happened, it can acknowledge "a great wrong".
"I am pleased to be able to formally grant a Presidential Pardon to him today, and to at least set the record straight," the president said.
"I hope that my doing so will bring a sense of closure to his family following almost 127 years. I commend them for their efforts."