The Barry case highlights the pressing need for legal reform

If previous convictions were taken into account and Barry denied bail, Manuela might still be alive, writes Jennifer Hough.

GERALD BARRY was just 16 when he first came to the attention of gardaí as a violent offender.

The Galway teenager from Mervue had already been in trouble for minor offences but this one, in the summer of 1996, was by far his most serious.