Serial killers unlikely to walk free
Justice Minister Michael McDowell also said there would have to be "very grave reasons" for him to interfere with the original sentence.
News that Shaw and Evans have applied for early release from life sentences they are serving in Ireland have been greeted with shock and disbelief.
The two men, who are Ireland's longest serving prisoners, having been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1978, have recently applied to the Parole Board to have their cases reviewed. The pair raped and murdered two women in 1976 as part of a grisly plan to carry out a similar attack on a woman every week during their stay in Ireland while on the run from police in Britain.
They have now served 28 years in prison for the rape, torture and murder of Dublin office worker Elizabeth Plunkett and Mayo shop assistant Mary Duffy.
However, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said it was likely the men would still be wanted for questioning if they remained suspects in unsolved cases - a move that makes their freedom unlikely in the near future.
Shaw, 59, who comes originally from Wigan, fled England in 1974 after becoming the subject of a manhunt following the rape of three girls, including the daughter of a Manchester police officer.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell said yesterday he was "fairly clear" about his attitude to cases such as those involving Shaw and Evans. "I don't want to make it clear here but it will be clearer in the fullness of time," he said.
Fine Gael Justice spokesperson Jim O'Keeffe urged the minister to turn down the application. "In the case of serial killers in the UK such as the Moors Murderers, life has meant life. I see no reason why the same should not apply to these killers," he said.
A retired detective, who led the investigation which captured Shaw and Evans, voiced his total opposition to their release. "No woman in this or any jurisdiction would be safe if those psychopaths were ever allowed walk the streets again," said retired Det Insp Gerry O'Carroll, a former senior officer with the disbanded Garda Murder Squad.
Both Shaw and Evans, 61, are being held at Arbour Hill Prison, the main detention centre for sex offenders. Shaw was moved to the low security Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon in early 2003, sparking speculation that he might be due for early release. It led to calls from the family of Mary Duffy to ensure the men served the full life sentence for murder.
However, it is understood Shaw returned to Arbour Hill after six months as he was entitled to more privileges in Dublin.
