, who heard the case against Patrick O’Donnell withheld crucial information in court which indicated that the jury believed that the killing was “without malice aforethought”.
Mr Ó Cuirreáin suggests that Mr Justice Denman misled the court when he amended and misrepresented the wording of a direct question from the jury which showed they were inclined to believe the killing was “without malice’. However, the actual question posed by the jury which was not read to the court is included in a file on the O’Donnell case in the British National Archive which was ordered to be ‘closed until 1985’.
The question suggests that the jury had no problem in understanding the concept of “malice aforethought” but rather sought to ascertain if they reached a verdict of “murder without malice aforethought” would the judge accept that verdict. The text of the question was: “If we find the prisoner guilty of murder without malice aforethought can you take that verdict?”
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