An appeals court has given a second chance to a young man who had been jailed for two months for trafficking in cannabis after losing both his mother and grandmother at the time the crime was committed.
The man is not being named because, at 16, he was still a minor then. He was jailed by the magistrates' court for two months last June after he admitted to trafficking and possession of the drug in 2006 in circumstances which denoted it was not for his exclusive use. He was also fined €235.
The man appealed the decision, arguing that, given his special circumstances, he should not have been sent to jail. He understood that the prison term was below the minimum of six months but it should have been avoided altogether.
The man also cited the fact that he had admitted his action to the police, that he fully cooperated with them, that he was a minor at the time and that he realised that what he had done was wrong and had since changed his lifestyle.
He added that he had lost his mother and grandmother and was still studying, so the jail term would have a disastrous effect on him emotionally and academically.
The Attorney General argued that the man had brought the situation on himself and although he might have reformed it was up to the court to determine whether this was a genuine case.
Mr Justice Michael Mallia, presiding over the Criminal Court of Appeal, noted in his judgment that the welfare officer's report detailed the personal problems the man faced after losing his mother and grandmother within a few months of each other at a tender age. He easily succumbed to pressures from his peers who were at the time not exactly of the finer sort.
After reviewing the case, considering that the facts were not in dispute, and particularly the welfare officer's report, the court was of the opinion that the young man deserved another chance.
Mr Justice Mallia said he "realises that the man passed through a difficult time when he lost two members of his close family within a few months of each other and this must have affected him psychologically and academically because he did not do so well at school".
The young man was now attending an IT course at MCAST and the judge expressed the hope that he would carry on studying.
"No doubt the man will have the support of his family especially his long suffering father who had to contend not only with the death of his wife, so soon after moving to a new home, but also with his wayward son".
He hoped the man realised this and would make life easier for himself and his family by keeping to the road of recovery and making his family proud.
Mr Justice Mallia urged the man to take this advice seriously and not let down the trust that the court was placing in him: "Life is too precious to be held up by wrong choices and interminable court proceedings," he said.
He converted the two-month jail term into a one-year suspended one.