A young man in Ireland was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for defending himself and his family from a drunk intruder who attacked him in his own home.
Dean Kerrie was just 17 years old on July 26, 2018, when a drunken 25-year-old named Jack Power broke into Kerrie’s home and attacked him late in the night. Power had been drinking and apparently found damage to his car that night. Believing Kerrie had caused the damage, Power threw a rock through the front window of Kerrie’s home and entered the house to confront the teenager, assaulting him in his bedroom, the Irish Mirror reported. The outlet also said that Kerrie’s mother might have been attacked as well.
Kerrie, a thin young man, grabbed a knife by the side of his bed and stabbed Power, who is tall and well-built, while being attacked, killing the older man. Kerrie then immediately contacted emergency services to tell them what had happened.
Though Ireland allows citizens to use force to defend their homes, Justice Paul McDermott determined Kerrie, now 21, used “grossly” excessive force against Power – because Power was unarmed while attacking the teenager. Kerrie was charged with Power’s death and faced five-and-a-half years in prison, but McDermott reduced the sentence to four-and-a-half years because Kerrie showed remorse for his actions and took immediate responsibility. The final year of his sentence has been suspended for two years, the Independent reported, meaning he will spend three-and-a-half years in prison and, as long as he doesn’t get into trouble for two years, will not have to serve the final year of his sentence.
“I have to consider the nature of what happened that night,” McDermott said during sentencing. “The Oireachtas has recognized the special position of those obliged to defend themselves or their property from unlawful attack, particularly in their home. That is therefore a matter that has to be taken into account when considering the culpability of the accused. Those who are attacked in the home are entitled to use force and sometimes lethal force in defense of themselves and their home.”
The Oireachtas is Ireland’s national parliament, which includes the president and an upper and lower house of parliament.
McDermott acknowledged that Kerrie didn’t instigate the attack and had no way of expecting he or his family would be attacked in his home that night but insisted the punishment was justified because Kerrie stabbed his unarmed attacker.
Power’s family said during their victim impact statements that their son didn’t get a chance to speak in court. Judge McDermott insisted Power was an “exceptionally hard-working young man” who worked as a fisherman and was a role model for his brothers.
“Nothing I do or say will alleviate this suffering. The sentence I impose must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence of manslaughter and also appropriate to his [Kerrie’s] circumstances,” McDermott said, according to the Mirror.
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