Lawyer accepts no leniency for terminally-ill Massereene killer

The limited life expectancy of a terminally-ill dissident republican convicted of murdering two British soldiers should not influence the length of his jail term, his defence lawyer has accepted.

Brian Shivers (aged 46), who suffers from cystic fibrosis, was handed a life sentence last month after being found guilty of the murders of Sappers Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, and Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, outside Massereene Army barracks in Antrim on March 7 2009.

His lawyer, Pat O'Connor QC, told Belfast Crown Court his client had only four or five years to live.

But he acknowledged judge Justice Antony Hart was duty-bound to impose to a minimum term that was much longer.

"There's no allowance that my Lord can make that can have any meaning in relation to a life expectancy that is so limited," he said.

Justice Hart was hearing submissions before setting what tariff the killer will receive. He is due to give his decision next Friday.

Shivers, dressed in a grey jumper and jeans and sporting a beard, sat impassively in the dock as his lawyer told the court he faced spending the last years of his life behind bars.

"The life expectancy of Mr Shivers in the opinion of the most eminent expert in the field is four to five years," said Mr O'Connor.

"This means effectively Mr Shivers will never see the outside of prison except for when he needs hospital treatment or the possibility of compassionate leave."

The English soldiers from the 38 Engineer Regiment were about to begin a tour of duty in Afghanistan when they were gunned down in an attack by republicans opposed to the Good Friday peace deal of 1998.

Mr O'Connor said Shivers, from Magherafelt, had been reassured by a letter from the Prison Service, outlining what treatment would be offered for his condition while he is in custody.

Prosecution lawyer Terence Mooney QC told the judge that a term at the higher end was appropriate, adding that there were many aggravating factors, including the fact that the murders were politically motivated acts of terrorism.

“The victims were vulnerable,” he added.

“They were taken by surprise, they had no means of defence or escape.”

Mr Mooney said the sappers’ relatives and the survivors of the attack had submitted very personal victim impact statements to the judge, but he did not think it appropriate to detail their contents in open court.

Mr O’Connor said no-one could fail to be moved by the evidence.

DNA on matchsticks found in the partially burned-out Vauxhall Cavalier getaway car used in the ambush and abandoned eight miles away proved Shivers’ undoing at his trial.

Delivering his reserved judgment two weeks ago, Justice Hart, who accused Shivers of inventing an alibi for his movements on the night of the attack, said he was satisfied that he had tried to set the car alight.

Today, the judge acknowledged that the prosecution case claimed Shivers was a secondary party to the murders.

But he said that would not have a significant influence on the length of term imposed.

“I think any allowance would be modest,” said the judge.

Relatives of Shivers and Duffy sat in the public gallery of Court 11 during the brief tariff hearing.