By Friday week the Maze prison will become a ghost of its former self when most of the remaining paramilitary prisoners will be freed under the early-release scheme of the Belfast Agreement.
On Friday week 88 prisoners - 52 republicans and 36 loyalists - will be released. A remaining 16 inmates will be left in the eight H-blocks, six of them loyalists, 10 republicans. In less than two years they will also be released.
At the height of the Troubles up to 1,700 paramilitary prisoners were in the Maze, formerly known as Long Kesh.
Among those who will walk free on Friday week will be the Shankill IRA bomber, Sean Kelly. Ten people were killed in the October 1993 blast including one of the bombers, Thomas Begley, from Ardoyne in north Belfast.
Also to be released will be those responsible for the Greysteel massacre, the UDA revenge attack for the Shankill bombing, which left eight people dead. Another notorious prisoner to be released is Michael Stone, who in 1989 was sentenced to 30 years for six murders, including the killing of three men during the funerals of the Gibraltar Three in west Belfast in March 1988. Stone will be released either this Friday or Monday.
Among the 16 who are remaining inside are three INLA members, Christopher McWilliams, John Glennon and John Kenneway, convicted of the 1997 murder of the LVF leader, Billy Wright.
They were convicted in October 1998 and under the legislation must serve at least two years before they can be released under the Belfast Agreement. They are due for release in October. The remaining 11 also should be released in less than two years.
