Francis Donnelly (Snr), Francis Donnelly (Jnr) and Darryn Donnelly v. H.M.A. [2007] HCJAC59

Criminal Note of Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence - Concert:- On 9 February 2004, after trial, the appellants were found guilty of inter alia a charge of attempted murder and each appellant was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. The appellants appealed against their convictions on the basis that:- (1) the trial judge had erred in directing the jury on concert in that there was no evidence that the appellants either had a knife or had knowledge or grounds to suspect that a knife would be used by another and there was no evidence from which it could reasonably be inferred that he had been party to a common criminal purpose with the scope of attempt to murder, either with or without a knife; (2) the trial judge misdirected the jury in relation to the approach that they required to take to determine the extent of the common criminal purpose and (3) the trial judge misdirected the jury in relation to the use of the words "You are dead", alleged to have been said by the wife of the first named appellant and it was submitted that the directions given by the trial judge on this issue may have caused confusion as to what use the jury could make of the words quoted. Here the court considered whether the trial judge's directions to the jury on concert were adequate.