Mother fails to get killer's jail term reviewed

A heartbroken mother failed today in a bid to have the evil killer of her teenage daughter serve a longer jail sentence.

Margaret McAlorum from west Belfast was told by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, that he was unable to refer the case to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

She said: “It’s ridiculous and something needs to be done. The law needs to opens its eyes, look around and listen to people.”

Thomas Purcell, 18, a cunning and vicious thug who murdered her schoolgirl daughter Megan in April 2004, must serve a minimum of 15 years, which means he could be back on the streets again by the time he is 31.

Mrs McAlorum, 52, a mother of six, fears that Purcell, who battered Megan with a log after he is believed to have raped her in an isolated forest in the hills above west Belfast, will attack again once he is freed. The decision to allow him out will be made by the life sentence review board.

But she said she was bitterly disappointed Lord Goldsmith was not prepared to allow the judiciary to have a second look at the length of time Purcell stays behind bars. She said she would be seeking a meeting with the life sentence review body before it ever decided to consider Purcell for release.

At her home at Glen Colin Way, she said: “I appreciate the time he gave to this case. He was very understanding and he sent me a personal hand-written note saying he would always remember Megan and the dignity of this family.

“But the law needs to have a look at itself, bigtime. A paedophile can get five years and be out again after two and a half … to re-offend again.

“There is no cure for these type of people, including Thomas Purcell.

“Half the rapes here go unreported to police, simply because the girls are not prepared to testify. Something needs to be done.

“Life should mean life for murderers. They should be locked away for the rest of their lives, and never allowed to be part of society again. If nothing else, at least we highlighted the need to overhaul this aspect of the legal system, and maybe some good will come out of it.

“Just because Purcell got a minimum 15 years, it does not necessarily mean he will get out when that time is up. That is a matter for the review board, and so it is absolutely important we are allowed to speak with them before they make any decision and to remind them of the terrible impact this has had on us. Remember, we are serving our own life sentence.”

Because the injuries were so shocking, Megan, 16, could only be identified by dental records.

The Attorney General had been urged to refer the case to the Appeal Court because the family claimed the sentencing judge had demonstrated undue leniency.

Purcell, it was argued, had employed a level of cunningness beyond his years in an attempt to avoid detection in the aftermath of the murder, which meant his age, as a mitigating factor, did not have much validity.

There was also a question of a late plea of guilty, entered just before his trial was about to start and which it was claimed had heightened the family’s trauma as they waited for the hearing to begin. And there was also Purcell’s long history of violence in Northern Ireland and England even though he was still only 16 when he murdered.

A petition with 50,000 signatures was handed over to Lord Goldsmith at his office in London yesterday when Megan’s mother urged him to refer the case to the Court of Appeal in a bid to have the sentence lengthened.

She told him: “Purcell is in hibernation waiting to strike again because that’s in his nature.”

Michael Ferguson, a Sinn Féin member of the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly who accompanied her to the London meeting, said he too was disappointed.

He added: “The family does not feel justice has been served or the public interest protected. We will be making a submission to the life sentence review commission and the victims unit.

“It’s important that not only is justice done for Megan and her family but for others that this could happen to.”