Father of murdered Cork student says judicial system 'works in favour of criminals'

Vivienne Clarke

The father of a Cork student who was murdered at a house party in 2020 has criticised the judicial system saying it “worked in favour of criminals.”

Noel Blair, father of Cameron, told RTÉ radio’s Oliver Callan Show that the Supreme Court ruling last week that prohibited the naming of the young man who was convicted of murdering his son was “a very sore point” with the family.

The Supreme Court ruling last week overrules a landmark Court of Appeal judgment permitting the naming of the young man, who was 17 when he pleaded guilty to Cameron Blair’s murder on the Bandon Road in Cork on January 16th, 2020.

The man had reached adulthood when the Court of Appeal last year dismissed his appeal against being sentenced to life detention with a review to be conducted after serving 13 years. The court also held that the media could identify an accused person who turns 18 during their criminal court proceedings or appeals.

The Blair family had been very annoyed at the speed with which the original murder trial was held because the defendant was under 18. “We barely had time to grieve.”

The perpetrator received a mandatory life sentence that could not be reviewed for 13 years which was appealed as was the issue of anonymity, he explained.

“It's a very, very sore point to us that we were really, really disappointed. I personally think it was a great opportunity for the justice system, for the country. They run the roost anyway. The system works in favour of them.

“This individual can't be named, but every member of our family, from the youngest child to the great grandmother, they're all, you know, there's no anonymity there, like everybody is out in the open. And they've done nothing. You know, they're innocent.”

Mr Blair called on parents to exercise more responsibility for the actions of their children. “If you don't send a 14-year-old child to school you will go to jail as parents but the 14-year-old child can go out and he can assault your neighbour, he can burn your neighbour's car, he can do whatever he wants, but then all of a sudden the parents aren't responsible for their child.

“What we proposed was instead of putting a lot of resources into schools and stuff like this, make the parents responsible, make the parents go to counselling, make them, you know, make them be responsible for their child.

“What I would like to see done would be the first offense for, well I'm just going to concentrate on knives and weapons that can harm people. There should be one year mandatory [sentence], no nothing, no mitigating circumstances at all. This possession of a knife? Possession of a knife or a gun or anything that you can harm anybody with.”

Mr Blair said that a mandatory sentence for a first offence involving a weapon would be a good deterrent and could change the current system of youths with multiple previous convictions.

Criminals were “playing the system” which was being “watered down”, he said.

“There's not really a deterrent for an offender not to re-offend. They could keep re-offending, but they knew the system. They go up in front of the court. They cry that they're fond of drink or fond of drugs or fond of this. And we have a bad family home, like, you know, and all this nonsense.

“You know, like there's so many people had hard times when they were young growing up and they didn't have this and didn't have that. But they don't go out and murder people.

“Judges have the power in front of them to do what needs to be done to help solve the problem. You know, you're not going to solve everything but... It's the early intervention, isn't it? I believe and what the justice system are saying, early intervention in their eyes is go to the schools and talk and talk and talk.

“But in my opinion, every school should be issued with a letter. I think the law should be brought in that every child at every school should have a letter home with them that if there is any person caught with knives or anything to that effect, they will go to jail.”

Mr Blair told of how he had been on the train back to Cork when the Supreme Court ruling on anonymity had been given, despite the family being under the impression that a ruling would not be made until March 26th.