Attorney General Peter Grech says it was right to try Daniel Holmes’s case in the Criminal Court. Photo: Darrin Zammit LupiAttorney General Peter Grech agrees with his predecessor’s decision to have first-time offender Daniel Holmes tried in the superior court.
An appeals court last month upheld Mr Holmes’s 10-and-a-half-year sentence and €23,000 fine for cannabis offences.
His father spoke out after Joseph Buttigieg, who was already serving 11 years for trafficking, was recently sentenced to three-and-a-half years and fined €3,000 for growing almost twice as much cannabis as Mr Holmes.
“We really do not understand how the Attorney General can justify sending Daniel to the Criminal Court (the superior court) when the sentencing structures are so disparate. These cases should have been tried the other way around,” Mel Holmes said.
Selective comparisons between unrelated cases are of scarce assistance
The present Chief Justice, Silvio Camilleri, was Attorney General when Mr Holmes was arrested in 2006. He was succeeded by Dr Grech in 2010.
Asked whether Mr Holmes, as a first-time offender, should have been tried in the inferior court, like Mr Buttigieg, the Attorney General replied: “Both decisions were proved right by the judgments eventually delivered by the respective courts.
“Holmes received a sentence above the inferior court’s jurisdiction, while Buttigieg got three years and six months for his second case after getting 11 years in the superior courts for his first case.”
Mr Holmes’s original bill of indictment, drawn up by the Attorney General, listed four life sentences, a 20-year sentence and a fine of up to €500,000.
He had been arrested with fellow Brit Barry Lee after 1.06 kilos of cannabis plants and dried leaves were found at his flat.
The two were charged with importation, cultivation, trafficking and possession of the drug.
Acting on legal advice, the Welshman had pleaded guilty to everything, expecting to receive a lighter sentence. He complains he was not allowed to split the charges and plead guilty only to possession and cultivation.
Mr Holmes has stated publicly many times that the drugs were for the exclusive use of himself and his co-accused, who committed suicide while awaiting trial. He tried to submit a new statement but to no avail.
Mr Buttigieg was found guilty of cultivating and possessing 1.85 kilos of cannabis leaves. The court believed his argument that the drugs were for personal use.
According to Dr Grech: “Selective comparisons between unrelated cases are of scarce assistance in the administration of criminal justice.”