Challenge over convicted murderer’s transfer from Irish to UK prison adjourned

A High Court challenge brought by the mother of murdered boxer Kevin Sheehy aimed at preventing her son’s killer being transferred to a UK prison has been adjourned after lawyers for the Minister for Justice agreed to freeze the move until the action has been determined.

Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan was told on Thursday by Ann Marie Lawlor SC, for the Minister, that her client wants the action brought by Tracey Tully, whose 20-year-old son was killed at Hyde Road Limerick on July 1st, 2019, heard as soon as possible.

The Irish champion boxer died after being repeatedly struck by a vehicle driven by Logan Jackson, of Longford Road, Coventry, England. Jackson was convicted of Mr Sheehy’s murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Following his conviction 31-year-old Jackson successfully applied to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee for a transfer from Ireland to a prison in the UK, where he will serve out his sentence.

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In judicial review proceedings against the Minister, Ms Tully challenged that decision and sought a court order 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.

‘Abdication’

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 Lawlor on Thursday said that the Minister was seeking an adjournment to ascertain precisely what attitude her client will take in relation to Ms Tully’s action. The Minister, counsel said, wanted the matter dealt with as soon as possible and had agreed that Jackson will not leave the jurisdiction until the action has been determined.

Ms Justice Phelan agreed to adjourn the case for a week. She also directed that Jackson be made a notice party to the proceedings, given that he is affected by the outcome of the case.

Ms Tully’s counsel Arthur Griffin Bl, instructed by Mark Murphy solicitors, said his side were not objecting to the adjournment nor to having Jackson added as a notice party to the action. Counsel said his side welcomed the fact that Jackson would not be moved until the action has been heard.