Who is Sunny Jacobs? Tributes pour in for death row campaigner after tragic house fire
Tributes are pouring in following the tragic death of a Floridian woman who was on death row in the USA following a house fire in Galway.
Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs, 76, and a man in his 30s, understood to be her carer, died in the fire in Casla, a village in Connemara, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The bodies were recovered from the home and transferred to the mortuary at University Hospital, Galway. Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs, 76, and man (30s) understood to be her carer died in the fire in Casla, a village in Connemara in the early hours of Tuesday (June 3) morning. Pic: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock
A statement from An Garda Síochána appealed for witnesses to the tragedy as they confirmed the results of the post-mortems of Ms Jacobs and her carer would determine the course of the Garda investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Clifden Garda Station on 095 22500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
Tributes are pouring in online for the 76-year-old who worked as a yoga teacher and had founded a charity to help those who had been in the same situation as herself.
One person wrote: 'I am sad to share news of the passing of my dear friend, a true hero and a champion for justice, Sunny Jacobs.'
Sinn Féin's Aoife Masterson added: 'I am so sorry to learn of the passing of Sunny Jacobs a powerful woman and tireless advocate for human rights.
'I got to know Sunny and her partner Peter through my work with the Innocence Project, in both Ireland and Ohio.'
Ms Masterson added that one of the reasons she got involved in politics was 'because knowing and representing people like Sunny made me so acutely aware that justice can never be taken for granted.'
Masterson added: 'Because the system fails too many people in too many ways. Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs. Pic: Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock
'Sunny understood that more than most, more than any one person ever should.'
Another friend of the late Sunny's added that at the age of nearly 77 years old, the American native still worked tirelessly and carried out daily international phone calls, Zoom meetings, talks, podcasts, media and events along with fundraising for the Sunny Foundation.
'She never stopped giving, and in all of this, she kept gratitude at the heart of her practice,' they shared, 'Always grateful for the beauty, for animals, for nature, for friendship for life.'
Ms Jacobs is a Florida native who spent 17 years in prison in America after she was wrongfully accused of killing two police officers in 1976. She had been sentenced to the electric chair, but that was changed to a life sentence, which she was later exonerated from.
The campaigner and her then-husband, Jesse Tafero, were wrongfully convicted after a man called Walter Rhodes shot and killed the police.
Mr Tafero was executed, with a malfunction of the electric chair, meaning the wronged man spent more than 12 minutes awaiting his death. Rhodes later confessed to the murder of the two officers.
Jacobs was released in 1992 after entering an Alford plea. This meant that while she didn't admit to the crime, she accepted an imposed sentence. Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs and Peter Pringle in 2018. Pic: Collins Courts
Following her time in prison, Ms Jacobs met her second husband, Peter Pringle. Pringle was also exonerated of murdering two Gardaí. He spent 15 years incarcerated before he was released in 1995.
Jacobs and Pringle met in 1998 and bonded through their shared experiences of being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit.
The pair wed in 2011, and in 2012 began welcoming exonerees into their home, which led to the founding of their charity organisation.
The Sunny Centre was established in 2014 and was a place where the couple helped those who had been released from prison after being wrongfully convicted.
The Connemara-based organization gives people who have been exonerated and released from prison help in dealing with the injustice of their wrongful convictions.
In 2018, the couple opened The Sunny Living Centre in Florida, which was a housing complex in Tampa, Florida, for those who had been exonerated.
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Dublin Live
26 minutes ago
- Dublin Live
Garda Commissioner sends 'be afraid' warning to Kinahan trio
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has warned the surviving leaders of the Kinahan cartel : 'we are coming for you'. "They should be worried," Mr Harris said on Monday – 12 days after Daniel Kinahan's key confidant Sean McGovern was sent back from Dubai to face serious charges in his native Dublin, including murder. The three Kinahan men – Christy, 67, Daniel, 47, and Christopher 44 – are also holed up in Dubai and Mr Harris now says time is running out for them in the desert state of the United Arab Emirates. And he added: "Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice." Speaking at Garda HQ in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Mr Harris warned the leaders – who like McGovern were hit with sanctions by United States authorities in April 2022 – were the subject of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation. He said: "They should have been worried now for a number of years because there's huge effort, huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang. A lot of things which they said couldn't be done, have been done. "So following on from the sanctions, the work that we've undertaken with the UAE, and the work that specifically we've undertaken with the police in Dubai has been very fruitful. They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing us information, and obviously, UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition, and you see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that's the correct thing to do." (Image: Irish Mirror) The sanctions also saw each of the Kinahan trio have a bounty of $5 million placed on their heads – and Mr Harris told other members of the gang that they should consider turning their bosses in and taking the reward money. He said: "I would also point out the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan Organised Crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, and the sanctions and the rewards still stand. "And I would point to there's $15 million there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play as well. I just want to remind others in the Kinahan Organised Grime Gang of the perilous position that they're now in. "Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice. So all of them should be worried, and they should be thinking about the choices, serious life choices that are now ahead of them, in respect of what to do over the coming months. Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on." And Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly – who oversaw much of the crackdown on the Kinahans when he was in charge of the force's serious crime operations – said that mid ranking members of the cartel had serious life decisions to take. "Some of these people need to have a really good think," he said. "They have some serious life choices they can make. They have a choice to make. The rewards are in place." He also said the May 29 extradition of Crumlin, south Dublin native McGovern, 39, showed that gardai were determined to hunt down major gangsters. Mr Kelly said: "A number of years and the commissioner were asked about this, and I think what we had said was, we would be relentless in our pursuit of some of these transnational organised crime groups. "And I think the events last week as absolute evidence of that. And I think it's really important as well that everybody knows that there's other transnational organised crime groups outside the Kinahan OCG, and exactly the same for those. "It doesn't matter where in the world they are. If there are charges here, we will seek to have them extradited back to Ireland. So extradition agreements, all the work by the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, are really important to our organization. "I'll just repeat that again. We will be absolutely relentless in our pursuit of these criminals." And he said the international manhunt would not stop at the Kinahans – and pointed out that gardai had already dismantled two other gangs here. One is believed to be a gang from Blanchardstown in west Dublin that has been heavily targeted by gardai, while the other is thought to be the Family, a major outfit from Clondalkin. It has been targeted and degraded by gardai – as well as cops in Spain. Mr Kelly said: "There are people that are involved in organised crime, and they need to look and see what the result of that is. We have absolutely dismantled two of the organised crime groups here in Dublin. At one stage, we had 47 members of one group in jail. "So if you make those life choices and you want to become involved in this, the reality facing you is the full force of the state against you and investigations by specialist investigators, prosecutions, many of these cases end up in the Special Criminal Court. "As you're all aware, there's been numerous lengthy sentences sent out for possession of drugs, firearms. Now we have substantial legislation around organised crime, directing and facilitating organised crime. "So there's a huge range of powers we have. And even beyond that, we can see people who are convicted, their houses are now being subject to Criminal Assets Bureau orders. So before people get involved in this, this is the type of thing they need to look at." Gardai have sent investigative files on the three Kinahan men to the Director of Public Prosecutions and have asked for them to be charged with a range of gangland offences that can carry life sentences. And a separate file on the murder of Eddie Hutch, the 58-year-old brother of Gerry "the Monk" Hutch who was shot dead by the cartel in February 2016, has also asked for Daniel to be charged. The files are currently being considered by the DPP – and Commissioner Harris declined on Monday to be drawn on the status of them. He said: "I can't talk to specific files or where we are in terms of the individuals or the directions - I won't talk to that. "All I can say is that through our own National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the investigations are active and our involvement, then through Europol, with the (UK's National Crime Agency), but also US federal law enforcement that continues to be active as well." Mr Harris made his comments less than a fortnight after the extradition from Dubai of McGovern, named by US authorities as Daniel Kinahan's right hand man. He is charged with one murder and four gangland offences. (Image: Mick O'Neill) He is charged with the murder of Christoper, aka Noel, Kirwan at St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin in west Dublin on December 22, 2016. Mr Kirwan, 62, was shot dead in the driveway of his home. He was targeted by the Kinahan cartel after he was spotted with Gerry "the Monk" Hutch at the funeral of his brother Eddie. Mr McGovern is also charged with four gangland offences. It is alleged that between October 20, 2016 and December 22, 2016, he directed the activities of the criminal gang that murdered Mr Kirwan. It is also alleged that between the same dates he facilitated the crime gang's murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a further two charges in relation to a murder attempt on James "Maggo" Gately, 36, a leading figure in the Hutch organised crime gang. It is alleged that between October 17, 2015 and April 6, 2017, he directed a criminal organisation in relation to the monitoring of activity of Mr Gately. It is further alleged that between the same dates, he facilitated a conspiracy to murder Mr Gately. McGovern is in custody in Portlaoise Prison and is due to appear at the non-jury Special Criminal Court later this month. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trucker arrested after €1m cannabis find told gardaí: ‘I'll smoke it tomorrow', court hears
'I'll smoke it tomorrow,' a lorry driver allegedly found transporting more than €1 million worth of cannabis told investigating gardaí, a court has heard. Andrew Cooley (32) from Ballyoran, Dundalk, Co Louth, was arrested at Dublin Port at 1.45am on Saturday driving a truck that had arrived on a boat from Holyhead. The father of two was charged with unlawful possession of 55.4kg of cannabis, with an estimated value of €1,108,000, for the purpose of sale or supply. On Monday, he appeared at Dublin District Court where Garda Dylan Mallon objected to bail due to flight risk concerns. READ MORE The garda alleged a customs officer engaged with Mr Cooley and smelled cannabis coming from the truck. A search of the cab allegedly led to finding black bags covered by clothes. The contested bail hearing was told there were 31 black packages allegedly containing cannabis. Gardaí took Mr Cooley to Store Street station and interviewed him several times. It was alleged he admitted ownership and told gardaí: 'I'll smoke it tomorrow.' The garda feared the accused would evade justice because he had travelled to Europe multiple times as a driver, and his work was transferable. Defence solicitor Luke Staines said information from his client's employer showed Mr Cooley had never gone to continental Europe and had only travelled in Ireland and England. The defence stressed that Mr Cooley has ties to Ireland and has children here, while there was nothing to suggest he would leave the jurisdiction. Mr Staines said his client could face two years on remand until his trial. The solicitor told the court the driver would obey conditions and furnish a satisfactory address. Judge Michele Finan reserved her decision on the bail application until Friday. She granted legal aid.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Be afraid, we are coming for you' - Garda chief sends warning to Kinahan trio
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has warned the surviving leaders of the Kinahan cartel: 'we are coming for you'. 'They should be worried,' Mr Harris said on Monday – 12 days after Daniel Kinahan's key confidant Sean McGovern was sent back from Dubai to face serious charges in his native Dublin, including murder. The three Kinahan men – Christy, 67, Daniel, 47 and Christopher 44 – are also holed up in Dubai and Mr Harris now says time is running out for them in the desert state of the United Arab Emirates. And he added: 'Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice.' Speaking at Garda HQ in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Mr Harris warned the leaders – who like McGovern were hit with sanctions by United States authorities in April 2022 – were the subject of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation. He said: 'They should have been worried now for a number of years because there's huge effort, huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang. 'A lot of things which they said couldn't be done, have been done. So following on from the sanctions, the work that we've undertaken with the UAE, and the work that specifically we've undertaken with the police in Dubai has been very fruitful. 'They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing us information, and obviously, UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition, and you see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that's the correct thing to do.' The sanctions also saw each of the Kinahan trio have a bounty of $5 million placed on their heads – and Mr Harris told other members of the gang that they should consider turning their bosses in and taking the reward money. He said: 'I would also point out the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan Organised Crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, and the sanctions and the rewards still stand. 'And I would point to there's $15 million there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play as well. 'I just want to remind others in the Kinahan Organised Grime Gang of the perilous position that they're now in. 'So all of them should be worried, and they should be thinking about the choices, serious life choices that are now ahead of them, in respect of what to do over the coming months. Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on.' And Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly – who oversaw much of the crackdown on the Kinahans when he was in charge of the force's serious crime operations – said that mid ranking members of the cartel had serious life decisions to take. 'Some of these people need to have a really good think,' he said. 'They have some serious life choices they can make. They have a choice to make. The rewards are in place.' He also said the May 29 extradition of Crumlin, south Dublin native McGovern, 39, showed that gardai were determined to hunt down major gangsters. Mr Kelly said: 'A number of years ago…myself and the commissioner were asked about this, and I think what we had said was, we would be relentless in our pursuit of some of these transnational organised crime groups. 'And I think the events last week as absolute evidence of that. 'And I think it's really important as well that everybody knows that there's other transnational organised crime groups outside the Kinahan OCG, and exactly the same for those. 'It doesn't matter where in the world they are. If there are charges here, we will seek to have them extradited back to Ireland. So extradition agreements, all the work by the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, are really important to our organization. 'I'll just repeat that again. We will be absolutely relentless in our pursuit of these criminals.' And he said the international manhunt would not stop at the Kinahans – and pointed out that gardai had already dismantled two other gangs here. One is believed to be a gang from Blanchardstown in west Dublin that has been heavily targeted by gardai, while the other is thought to be the Family, a major outfit from Clondalkin. It has been targeted and degraded by gardai – as well as cops in Spain. Mr Kelly said: 'There are people that are involved in organised crime, and they need to look and see what the result of that is. 'We have absolutely dismantled two of the organised crime groups here in Dublin. 'At one stage, we had 47 members of one group in jail. 'So if you make those life choices and you want to become involved in this, the reality facing you is the full force of the state against you and investigations by specialist investigators, prosecutions, many of these cases end up in the Special Criminal Court. 'As you're all aware, there's been numerous lengthy sentences sent out for possession of drugs, firearms. Now we have substantial legislation around organised crime, directing and facilitating organised crime. 'So there's a huge range of powers we have. And even beyond that, we can see people who are convicted, their houses are now being subject to Criminal Assets Bureau orders. So before people get involved in this, this is the type of thing they need to look at.' Gardai have sent investigative files on the three Kinahan men to the Director of Public Prosecutions and have asked for them to be charged with a range of gangland offences that can carry life sentences. And a separate file on the murder of Eddie Hutch, the 58-year-old brother of Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch who was shot dead by the cartel in February 2016, has also asked for Daniel to be charged. The files are currently being considered by the DPP – and Commissioner Harris declined on Monday to be drawn on the status of them. He said: 'I can't talk to specific files or where we are in terms of the individuals or the directions - I won't talk to that. "All I can say is that through our own National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the investigations are active and our involvement, then through Europol, with the (UK's National Crime Agency), but also US federal law enforcement that continues to be active as well.' Mr Harris made his comments less than a fortnight after the extradition from Dubai of McGovern, named by US authorities as Daniel Kinahan's right hand man. He is charged with one murder and four gangland offences. He is charged with the murder of Christoper, aka Noel, Kirwan at St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin in west Dublin on December 22, 2016. Mr Kirwan, 62, was shot dead in the driveway of his home. He was targeted by the Kinahan cartel after he was spotted with Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch at the funeral of his brother Eddie. Mr McGovern is also charged with four gangland offences. It is alleged that between October 20, 2016 and December 22, 2016, he directed the activities of the criminal gang that murdered Mr Kirwan. It is also alleged that between the same dates he facilitated the crime gang's murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a further two charges in relation to a murder attempt on James 'Maggo' Gately, 36, a leading figure in the Hutch organised crime gang. It is alleged that between October 17, 2015 and April 6, 2017, he directed a criminal organisation in relation to the monitoring of activity of Mr Gately. It is further alleged that between the same dates, he facilitated a conspiracy to murder Mr Gately. McGovern is in custody in Portlaoise Prison and is due to appear at the non-jury Special Criminal Court later this month.
