McCabe killers denied temporary Christmas release
Despite reports yesterday that dissident republicans Kevin Walsh, Michael O’Neill, Pearse McAuley and Jeremiah Sheehy would be freed for Christmas, their day out has been denied.
Only eight people from Castlereagh Prison in Roscommon — where the four are held — are being let out over the holidays.
None of those include Garda McCabe’s killers, who are serving manslaughter sentences of between 11 and 14 years.
The denial will come as a blow to two of the men, Pearse McCauley and Jeremiah Sheehy, who earlier this week lost a High Court bid for early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
A department source said yesterday: “There’s no way they are getting out.”
Reports from prison sources had suggested a last-minute decision would be taken to free the four in the days ahead.
Meanwhile, double murderer Malcolm McArthur will be let out from prison for 12 hours on Christmas Day. One of the State’s most notorious inmates, McArthur, has spent 24 years behind bars.
He was sentenced to life for the murder of a young nurse in 1982, an incident which led to a political scandal when it emerged he was arrested at the home of the then Attorney General Patrick Connolly.
In a famous phrase, then Taoiseach Charles Haughey called the incident “grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented” (GUBU).
As Mr McDowell was then a junior member of McArthur’s defence team, the responsibility for deciding whether to release the infamous killer was passed to Defence Minister Willie O’Dea.
McArthur will be allowed out at 9am on Christmas Day, but must return by 9pm in the evening.
He is understood to be having dinner at his son’s house in Dublin.
Meanwhile, 230 prisoners will be freed over the holidays, some for up to eight nights. The number of releases is down by 50 on last year. However, as with every year, it is expected that a number of inmates will fail to return to prison when their break is over.
Figures at the beginning of 2006, showed 38 inmates who were out on temporary release last year failed to return. By late January, nearly 20 of them had still failed to make themselves known to prison authorities.
Inmates are released on a number of criteria. These include the type of offences they were sentenced for, the time already spent behind bars, as well as any other previous convictions.
Mr McDowell said this year that most of those on release are close to the end of their sentences. For this reason, it is not expected that they will go on the run.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
