A teenager with no previous convictions who is on trial accused of murdering a gunman lost control in reaction to the "horror" of seeing his friend shot and fatally wounded, a barrister has told the Special Criminal Court.
Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, for 18-year-old David Amah, said her client was a child at the time of the killing and had never faced or even imagined a scene such as that which unfolded in the busy restaurant where he had gathered with friends and people he regarded as his family for a Christmas Eve party.
The trial at the three-judge, non-jury court has previously heard that Tristan Sherry and a second gunman entered Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown on December 24th last year where Jason Hennessy snr and about 30 others had gathered.
Sherry shot and fatally wounded Hennessy Snr before himself being dragged to the ground and beaten to death.
Three men, including Mr Amah, are on trial accused of Sherry's murder while three others, including Hennessy snr's son Brandon Hennessy, are accused of violent disorder.
Ms Lawlor asked the court to consider whether Sherry's actions in shooting dead Hennessy snr had so provoked her client that he lost all self-control.
She reminded the court that Mr Amah, who was 17 at the time, was a child and the self control of a child is different to that of an adult.
Ms Lawlor said she rejects the prosecution's description of Mr Amah's actions, as seen on CCTV footage, as "calm, controlled and careful".
His actions were, counsel said, "wholly consistent with a loss of self-control" and were an "immediate reaction" to the deliberate killing of his friend by a gunman dressed in black and wearing a balaclava.
The prosecution's cold analysis of the footage was, counsel said: "A dry, arid, detached, lifeless, fleshless, bloodless characterisation of what occurred that evening."
She said the prosecution had failed to take into account the "horror of what David Amah saw" and his reaction to seeing Hennessy snr fall to the ground having been fatally wounded.
Counsel accepted that her client is not blameless but she asked the court to consider his age, the fact he had no previous convictions, had never been questioned by gardaí about anything and found himself in a horrific scene not of his making surrounded by people screaming and crying.
Ms Lawlor also asked the court to look closely at the CCTV and assess whether Mr Amah can actually be seen stamping on Sherry, as was alleged by the prosecution.
She asked the court to question where on Sherry's body Mr Amah made contact. If there is any doubt as to whether Mr Amah inflicted injuries that caused Sherry's death, the court must give the accused the benefit of that doubt, she said. Ms Lawlor asked the court to return a verdict that properly reflects Mr Amah's culpability.
Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers previously told the trial that Sherry died from blunt force trauma to the head resulting in injuries to the brain with sharp force injuries.
Michael Hourigan SC represents Jonas Kabangu (18), who denies a charge of violent disorder arising from Sherry's death.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Kabangu first left the restaurant through a kitchen door but then returned "for no apparent reason" and twice kicked Sherry to the body while he lay on the ground being beaten to death.
Mr Hourigan said the prosecution case was shorn of the context of the live and ongoing threat that people in the restaurant faced. The second gunman had evaded capture and nobody knew where he was or if he posed further threat.
They also didn't know if more attackers were coming and whether the killing of Hennessy snr was just the beginning.
His client had seen the gun being pointed at him and heard shots being fired in his immediate vicinity.
When he returned to the restaurant, Mr Kabangu could not have known that Sherry was no longer a threat during the four seconds when it is alleged that he twice kicked the deceased. Mr Hourigan asked the court to acquit his client.
The trial will resume on Monday when lawyers for Brandon Hennessy and Diarmuid O'Brien, both of whom deny violent disorder, will deliver their closing speeches.
The three men charged with Sherry's murder are Noah Musueni (18), Corduff Park, Blanchardstown; David Amah (18), Hazel Grove, Portrane Road, Donabate, Dublin; and Michael Andrecut (23), Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown.
Jonas Kabangu (18), Corduff Park, Blanchardstown and 18-year-old Diarmuid O'Brien of Corduff Place, Blanchardstown are charged with violent disorder at the same location on that date.
Brandon Hennessy (21) of Sheephill Avenue, Dublin 15 is also charged with violent disorder.
All accused have pleaded not guilty.
