Janet O'Brien, a mother from Dublin, has described her extraordinary prison encounter with the man who killed her son in a one-punch assault. Luke O'Brien was 20 years old when Jack Hall Ellis struck him in an unprovoked attack outside a pub in Tallaght, Dublin, in 2017. Hall Ellis served three years and eight months of a five-year sentence for unlawful killing.
Restorative Justice Meeting
As part of the Irish Probation Board's restorative justice initiative, Janet chose to meet Hall Ellis in prison. Speaking on Ireland AM, she said: "I got my opportunity to show Jack a picture of Luke in hospital, not to hurt him, but to show him visibly what he had done and what we were left with and like that to encourage him to please never lash out again."
When asked about his reaction, she added: "Yeah, he was definitely taken aback by the photo. But he was also, I have to say, he was very remorseful and he thanked me for the meeting. He said he thought I was going to come in screaming and shouting, and he was going to let me."
No Anger, No Retaliation
Janet explained her motivation: "All along, I've had such a strong feeling of, you know, no anger, no retaliation, because there's a gang of kids involved here. There's my son, there's all Luke's friends, everybody was so angry at the time that it could have just got into such a vicious circle of retaliation and people being in trouble, maybe somebody else getting hurt. And I couldn't bear that to happen."
Luke's Life
Luke was Janet's firstborn and had recently enrolled at Crumlin College to study accountancy. She described him as "a gorgeous kid" and "very family oriented." He was making positive changes in his life, but his life was cut short on Halloween evening 2017.
After accompanying his mother and sister to the cinema and a meal, Luke went out with friends. At 3 a.m., Janet received a call from Store Street Garda Station informing her that Luke had been assaulted. He was taken to Tallaght Hospital with a severe brain bleed and later moved to Beaumont Hospital, where he fought for survival for two weeks before passing away.
The Attack
Janet recounted: "It was one punch from behind. He didn't see it coming. Jack had said he was chatting to his girlfriend." Hall Ellis received a five-year sentence. Janet noted: "I know a lot of people were angry about that, but I was always of the opinion like, why does it matter if he got 20 years? Nothing is bringing Luke home."
Why She Met Him
The idea of meeting her son's killer came after learning Hall Ellis had been on bail the night of the attack and had violated his curfew. Janet felt an urge to ask him to make the most of his second chance. She went through a six-month preparation process with the probation service.
Reflecting on the meeting, she said: "I always struggle when someone asks me about this, because I know other people who have been through restorative justice can walk away and say, 'I feel so empowered, I've claimed my life back.' That's never going to be the case for us. You know, we just have to live this life now. But I am so glad I got the opportunity to sit and talk to him, like we were there for an hour, and I do feel and hope that it had an impact on Jack. So I can only hope."
