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David Hurley, 15 Jul
A HIGH Court judge will rule later this month on an application by the
mother of murdered Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy for permission to bring
a challenge aimed at preventing her son's killer from being transferred
to a UK prison.
Tracey Tully, whose 20-year-old son was killed at Hyde Road Limerick on
July 1, 2019 is seeking a High Court order preventing Logan Jackson,
who is serving a life sentence for Mr Sheehy's murder, being
repatriated back to England.
She has brought a judicial review action challenging Justice Minister
Helen McEntee's decision to sanction the transfer.
Ms Tully claims the Minister's decision amounts to a breach of her
rights as a victim of a crime.
[ilim_Kevin_Sheehy_family-1656675900627.jpg--.jpg?1656675903000]
WATCH: Family of murdered Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy mark third
anniversary of his death
The matter came before Ms Justice Siobhan Phelan this Friday.
The High Court previously directed that Ms Tully's application for
permission to bring her challenge be heard on notice to the Minister.
Lawyers representing the Minister and Jackson, who is a notice party to
the proceedings, claim that Ms Tully has not met the minimum threshold
that would allow the court to grant permission and that the action
should be dimissed.
Jackson is currently detained in Limerick Prison, and his proposed
transfer has been put on hold pending the outcome of the action.
Following the conclusion of legal submissions from the parties Ms
Justice Phelan reserved her decision.
She said that she intends to give her judgement on the leave
application before the current legal term concludes at the end of July.
Mr Sheehy, an Irish champion boxer, died after being repeatedly struck
by a vehicle driven by Logan Jackson of Longford Road, Coventry,
England.
Last year Jackson was convicted of Mr Sheehy's murder by a jury at the
Central Criminal Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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murdered_boxer_return_to_limerick_following_court_hearing.jpg?164011444
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PICTURES: Emotional scenes as family of murdered boxer return to
Limerick following court hearing
Following his conviction 31-year-old Jackson successfully applied to
the Minister for Justice for a transfer from Ireland so he can serve
out his sentence in an English prison.
Ms Tully claims that the Minister's decision and seeks an order from
the court quashing the transfer.
She claims that if the transfer goes ahead, she fears she will not have
any say, nor be able to make any submissions to the UK authorities when
Jackson applies for parole.
She claims that if the transfer goes ahead any decision on a parole
application by her son's killer would be in the hands of the
authorities in another jurisdiction.
She claims that the Minister's decision to allow the transfer to go
ahead is unconstitutional and an "abdication of the Irish state's
responsibility to determine when a person serving a life sentence may
be paroled."
In her action she seeks declarations including that the proposed
transfer breaches her rights under the 2017 Victim of Crime Act and was
made outside of the Minister's powers under the 2019 Parole Act.
She further seeks a declaration that the decision to transfer Jackson
is unconstitutional as it removed the jurisdiction for sentencing
Jackson from the Irish state and handed it over to another state.
Ms Tully's counsel Ciaran O'Loughlin SC with Arthur Griffin Bl, said it
was their case that Ms Tully would have no say and that her rights
under the 2017 legislation would be gone if Jackson's proposed transfer
proceeds.
Counsel added that Irish legislation gives victims the right to be
consulted on parole applications by their wrongdoers.
It is Ms Tully's case that those rights would be extinguished by
Jackson's transfer to the UK, counsel added.
Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, with Elva Duffy Bl for the Minister, rejected the
applicant's claims, and argued that the legal threshold to allow the
court grant leave had not been met in this case.
It was denied that Ms Tully's rights have been breached.
Counsel also said that the Minister, who had sympathised with Ms Tully
over her terrible loss, had lawfully approved Jackson's transfer. Ms
Lawlor said the systems regarding the rights of victims regarding
sentenced prisoners in Ireland and England do not mirror each other.
However, the UK system does allow input from victims of crime in
relation to their wrongdoer's parole applications if they so wish,
counsel said.
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ng_star_kevin_sheehy.jpg]
Counsel said that various agreements, including a European Convention,
allows prisoners to be transferred from one country to another once
that individual's sentence has been finalised.
Counsel said that Jackson's sentence has been finalised and disagreed
with Ms Tully's cunsel that it has not been finalised.
Ms Lawlor said that once transferred the management, administration and
enforcement of those sentences' rests with the host country. She
further submitted that under the UK system the cases of transferred
prisoners go before a Judge in the English High Court.
That judge, based on the circumstances of each individual case, will
set a minimum tariff or period that a transfer prisoner must spend in
prison.
Counsel said that in the UK those given life sentences can only apply
for parole after they have served 15 years in prison. Under the Irish
system those serving life sentences can make a parole application after
12 years, counsel added.
Jackson, who is represented by Mark Nicholas SC, said his client agreed
with the Minister's submissions, and said that the transfer had been
legally and properly granted by the Minister.