Lifers

by Barry Cummins

There is only one penalty for committing murder in mandatory life imprisonment. It makes no difference if you plead guilty or if you're convicted by a jury. The sentence remains the same. It's been like this for fifty years since the death sentence was abolished. In 1954, when Michael Manning became the last man hanged for murder in Ireland, there were only a handful of life sentence prisoners in Irish jails. Now there are almost two hundred behind bars, with many more on temporary release for good behavior. In Lifers, Barry Cummins - crime reporter and best-selling author of Missing - charts the last half-century of murder in Ireland. Among the cases in Lifers is Ireland's longest serving prisoner, who has been in prison for over forty years but refuses to apply for parole. Also profiled are random killers John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans, who abducted and murdered women in Counties Wicklow and Mayo in 1976. Then there is the twenty-three-year investigation into the murder of Kildare woman Phyllis Murphy which saw John Crerar jailed for life in 2002. Lifers is not just an in-depth look at how some of Ireland's most evil killers were caught. It highlights issues that the criminal justice system must address. Lifers argues that it is the families of murder victims who are the people really serving a life sentence. This is a riveting book that raises matters of profound public concern.

Genres: True Crime, Crime

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very dull and drawn out, I couldn’t even bring myself to finish it. While normally I love true crime, this book felt very drab. The author kept jumping back and forth in time with each criminal, going back and forth between the night of the crime, the criminal being captured, and the trial. It was a little frustrating, as I prefer a more linear timeline especially when it comes to talking about true stories. Overall I just wasn’t a fan.

[Edwina Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As most of the world was pivoting in 2020 so too were my reading choices. I went from the warm, comforting, gentle humour and whimsical story in Connie Willis' time-travel novel "To Say Nothing of the Dog" to this real-life crime book, Lifers, by Barry Cummins. Spread over 329 pages, it investigates 12 criminals serving life in Irish jails, retelling their pasts and the crimes they committed to earn them their custodial sentences.

At the time of publication of this book (2004) Ireland seemed to have a lenient, even compassionate attitude towards offenders. A mandatory 'life' sentence is capped at 40 years, with many 'life' setences being set shorter, and they allow some prisoners day release, particularly towards the end of their sentence, possibly as a way of reintroducing them into the community. I'm not sure if they've tightened their laws in the intervening years, but the author addresses his concerns about this in his introduction.

The book starts with the story of the last man to be hanged in Ireland, followed by the story of the longest serving prisoner; a convicted murderer who was sentenced to life because the death sentence had been repealed a few months before. This prisoner has over-stayed his sentence, refusing to apply for parole, but seems perfectly happy being released daily to do gardening work, then return to the prison each night.

The other case studies in the book are less genteel, with a high proportion of victims being female and/or elderly, and a number of the murders being spontaneous attacks. The author doesn't tend to over-dramatize the events, though I found his tendency for repetition to be a distraction. Otherwise, I found this book an interesting insight into the Irish prison system

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes True Crime all the murders are based in Ireland and aswell as telling the story of the murder the author has included insights from friends and family of the victims.

[Audrey Mealiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read but terrifying!

[Cherise Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking book but interesting and well written