A BID by Catherine Nevin to have her conviction in 2000 for the murder of her husband declared a miscarriage of justice has been adjourned to later this month by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Nevin is serving a life sentence. She is seeking an order that the Director of Public Prosecutions disclose a range of material and documents which she claims is relevant to her claim of a miscarriage of justice.
Pursuing her application under the Crime Procedure Act, 1993, Nevin claims that material not given to her lawyers at the time of her trial contains information that casts doubt on the credibility and motivation of key prosecution witnesses.
It is contended that the documents being sought, including material on the Dublin-Monaghan bombing and Garda security files on witnesses Gerry Heapes, John Jones and William McClean, are relevant and will assist her in undermining the credibility of the three men.
Nevin also claims the documents may also potentially undermine the credibility of another State witness at her trial, Patrick Russell.
The DPP opposes handing over the material, contending the issues being raised now had already been dealt with at Nevin’s trial at the Central Criminal Court and during her appeal.
When the case was mentioned at the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman adjourned it until July 21st, when the matter of fixing a hearing date will be considered.
After being informed that Nevin was anxious to attend proceedings, the judge said there was no need for her to be present on July 21st.
The DPP has undertaken to give Nevin’s legal team by this evening an affidavit outlining the DPP’s response to the application for discovery.
Seán Gillane, for the DPP, said it was the DPP’s contention that the issues relating to the documents being sought had been dealt with “in substance” at Nevin’s trial and appeal.
Ms Nevin’s solicitor Anne Fitzgibbon told the court she would need time to consider the DPP’s affidavit.
Nevin (55) was convicted after a 42-day trial in April 2000 of the murder of her husband Tom at their pub, Jack White’s Inn, Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, on March 19th, 1996.
She was also convicted on three counts of soliciting three men to kill her husband in 1989 and 1990, six years before his murder.
In addition to the life sentence for murder, she is concurrently serving a seven-year term for the soliciting convictions.
A previous appeal by Nevin against her conviction was dismissed in 2003.