McArthur decision is an unenviable task
The Parole Board has recommended that the man, convicted of the murder of nurse Bridie Gargan 20 years ago, be moved to an open prison where inmates are normally released within two years.
This has catapulted one of the State's most politically sensitive prisoners back into the media spotlight.
Malcolm McArthur sparked a political storm back in the summer of 1982 after he was charged with murder in the apartment of the then Attorney General Patrick Connolly.
While the highest law officer in the country knew nothing about McArthur's actions it soon became obvious his position as AG was untenable.
During the political storm that followed Mr Connolly resigned and Mr Haughey described the affair as "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, unprecedented", a quote that inspired commentator Conor Cruise O'Brien to coin one of the most famous political acronyms GUBU.
The family of a second murder victim, Donal Dunne, believe McArthur pulled the trigger and are strongly opposed to his release on the grounds that he still poses a real threat to society and to their family.
Former Murder Squad chief , John Courtney, also believes McArthur could strike again.
The ultimate decision on McArthur's future rests with the Minister for Justice, but to complicate matters even further the present minister, Michael McDowell, will not be dealing with this case.
Mr McDowell is arranging for another minister to consider the Parole Board's report because he was junior counsel for the defence in McArthur's trial.
Whichever minister is landed with this highly politically sensitive task will be damned whichever path they choose. If they decide to release him they will be uproar from the families of Donal Dunne and Bridie Gargan
If they decide not to release McArthur then civil liberties groups will complain the prisoner has served his time and deserves to be moved to an open prison in line with the Parole Board's recommendations.
The reason Malcolm McArthur remains such a politically sensitive prisoner is because so many questions were left unanswered about the murder of Bridie Gargan and his alleged involvement in the murder of Offaly farmer Donal Dunne.
The Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, Eamon Barnes, decided not to prosecute Malcolm MacArthur for the murder of Mr Dunne.
This prompted 100,000 people nationwide to sign a petition urging the DPP to prosecute McArthur for Mr Dunne's murder. Mr Dunne's family was outraged and still believe the DPP agreed not to charge McArthur in connection with Mr Dunnes' murder charge if he pleaded guilty to murdering Bridie Gargan.
The DPP does not comment on any individual case so we are still left wondering.
So it looks as though Malcolm McArthur's fate now rests with some as yet unnamed minister.
Whoever it is, they have a tough decision to make.
