Flood of protests at Murphy release

AHEAD of the expected freeing of rapist Larry Murphy there have been calls for sex offenders who shun therapy to be denied early release from jail.

The notorious sexoffender is set to walk free from prison this week having served 10½ years of a 15-year sentence for the brutal rape of a woman in the Wicklow mountains.

Gardaí have indicated he will be kept under close surveillance, but some reports point to Murphy leaving the country once he is freed.

The prisoner’s imminent release has prompted demands for a review of the prison remission system.

Fine Gael said any sex offender who refuses treatment while in jail should be denied the traditional right to remission from their sentence.

Branded “the Beast of Baltinglass”, Murphy was caught by hunters in the Wicklow mountains in 2000 as he was trying to suffocate a woman after he had kidnapped and viciously raped her.

He had raped her several times and threw her in the boot of his car with a shopping bag over her head in the attempt to suffocate her.

There are fears the 45-year-old will return to his home town in west Wicklow after his expected release from Arbour Hill this Thursday.

Murphy is also a prime suspect in the disappearance of three other women.

His own family have publicly expressed fears that he could reoffend.

Close to 13,000 people have also signed up to a “Don’t let Larry Murphy out” Facebook page in a bid to highlight public concern over his release.

It remains unknown if Murphy participated in therapy while serving his sentence behind bars.

Fine Gael justice spokesperson Alan Shatter however called for the removal of early release for convicted sex offenders who failed to participate in treatment programmes.

“No one who has been convicted of a sexual offence such as rape should be eligible for early release unless they have fully participated in a treatment programme whilst in prison and agree on release to participate in a further programme.

“The Minister for Justice should publicly confirm that participation in such a programme was offered and available to Larry Murphy or whether he hasn’t participated in a programme because it was not available or wasn’t offered, “ Mr Shatter said.

“The early release of a convicted sex offender such as Larry Murphy in the absence of his participating in a treatment programme is not only a genuine cause of concern to the wider community, but undermines the integrity of the judicial process and the credibility of our courts system, in that such early release automatically disregards a substantial portion of the sentence imposed by the judiciary,” added Mr Shatter.