Michael D Higgins granted a pardon for John Twiss, a Kerry man who was executed at Cork Prison in February 1895 for a murder committed near Newmarket.
The pardon was granted following a report which found that the evidence against him could not safely support a guilt verdict.
President Higgins says the case has been of long standing concern for the people of Kerry, Cork and Limerick and highlighted that a petition from Fermoy Town Commissioners at the time against the sentence had collected 40,000 signatures.
Today's ceremony was attended by John Twiss's great grandniece Helen O’Connor and her family as well as members of the Michael O’Donohoe Memorial Project, a group based in Kerry who have raised awareness of the case and worked with the Department of Justice on the pardon process.
This afternoon, President Higgins signed a Presidential Pardon for Mr John Twiss, who was executed in February 1895 following a wrongful conviction of murder. It was only the sixth Presidential Pardon to be issued and the third posthumously. Read more at https://t.co/7Mq46tqA6f pic.twitter.com/esdOR1fiSt
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) December 16, 2021
