The High Court has rejected an appeal against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal for denying compensation to the offspring of a man murdered in 2005. The appeal was lodged by Eddie Cunningham Cummins and Erica Cunningham Cummins, offspring of Eddie Cummins Senior.
Mr Cummins Senior, with over 20 criminal convictions for various offences such as assault and drug trafficking, was killed at his residence in Ballincollig, County Cork on August 13, 2005. A police investigation into the homicide unveiled that Mr Cummins was fired four shots point-blank in an incident thought to be linked with drugs.
At the time of his murder, his son was merely 19 months old while his daughter was born a few months after he had been killed. In the aftermath of their father’s death, the children made an application in 2011 to the tribunal via their mother and their late father’s partner, Michelle Cunningham. They later instigated a High Court judicial review action to challenge the tribunal’s denial of their payment claim under the scheme.
Justice Mary Rose Gearty expressed in her verdict that the tribunal’s decision to deny compensation was correct. The court declared that the father’s criminal past and behaviour deemed it inappropriate to compensate his children. The judge expressed her sympathy towards the innocent victims of this incident who lost their father in a heartless and cowardly act yet agreed that dependents of a criminal who possibly died due to his criminal activities shouldn’t be awarded state compensation.
She was firm in stating that this didn’t mean the deceased had it coming. However, she highlighted the crucial principle that everyone involves in crime is well aware of the risks involved.
The judicial stance established that awarding compensation to the family of the deceased, who died due to their illegal activity, would not align with the government’s aim of deterring crime and precluding unlawful conduct. Therefore, it deemed the measure of withholding compensation not unbalanced or prejudiced.
Moreover, there was an acknowledgement that, despite the execution of a case file to the Prosecution Department Head regarding the murder, no individual has been indicted or found guilty to date.
In 2021, the tribunal declined the compensation applications from 2011, on twin grounds; firstly that they were submitted beyond the stipulated timeframe of two years and three months post the act of violence and secondly since Mr. Cummins Snr was already convicted 27 times.
Further, the tribunal concluded that the murder bore classic signs of a drug-related gang crime, hence, his offsprings are excluded from the benefit of the scheme.
According to the scheme’s Article 13, the victim’s conduct, if deemed unsuitable, can render the tribunal’s decision not to award compensation.
The applicants disputed this initial rejection through an internal appeal. During the appeal process, they contended that Article 13 should not be applicable in their circumstances. They also maintained the argument that their father’s actions or misdeeds do not taint the children’s innocence. However, in July 2022, the tribunal discarded their appeal.
The plaintiffs, hailing from Heron’s Wood, Carrigaline, Co Cork, initiated legal proceeding against the tribunal and the Minister for Justice, challenging the appeal decision. They also requested multiple reliefs, comprising an order to overturn the tribunal’s verdict. The respondents, however, rejected their plea.