Galway Bay FM Newsroom - The State has failed in its appeal to have a Loughrea man's jail sentence increased for two "grave" and "life-changing" assaults on a pensioner and a "good Samaritan" in Galway city centre six years ago.
The two assaults occurred within minutes of each other in June 2016
David Bannerton assaulted a 70-year-old man and then a passer-by who received a fractured skull when trying to break up an altercation between the defendant and his then partner.
The 47 year old Bannerton of Raheen Oughter, Kilchreest was jailed for six years with 18 months suspended by Judge Rory McCabe at Galway Circuit Criminal Court in January 2021.
This week, the Court of Appeal heard the State had no issue with a headline sentence of nine years identified by Judge McCabe.
Geri Silke, acting of behalf of the DPP said that a jail sentence for a man who had caused "life-changing" injuries should have been greater than the four-and-a-half years' imprisonment he received - 50 per cent less than the headline.
In delivering the court's judgement refusing the appeal, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy acknowledged the assaults had a "profound impact on both victims".
She said the sentencing judge was an experienced one who had Bannerton's rehabilitation in mind when suspending the 18 months for five years.
She said that Bannerton had a complicated history regarding his mental health and alcohol issues
Ms Justice Kennedy said that the judge had discretion when sentencing and that the Court of Appeal did not believe that, while lenient, the sentence amounted to a "substantial departure from the norm".
