A MAN serving life imprisonment for the murder of two British army corporals will know today if evidence which might free him is to be admitted at his second appeal.
The case of Patrick Kane (40), of Tullymore Walk, Andersonstown, west Belfast, was referred back to the North's Court of Appeal by the former Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew, following a long campaign for his release.
The question to be decided by the appeal judges - Lord Justice McCollum, Mr Justice Campbell and Mr Justice Kerr - is whether they should admit the evidence of Dr Gisli Gudjonsson, a renowned forensic psychologist from Norway.
Kane was convicted, along with Michael Timmons and Sean Kelly, of aiding and abetting in the murders of Corporals Derek Woods and David Howes in Belfast in 1988.
The trio became known as the Casement Three because it was alleged they were present in Casement Park sports ground when the soldiers were beaten and interrogated. The corporals had earlier driven into the funeral of one of three men killed by loyalist Michael Stone when he attacked mourners at Milltown Cemetery.
The soldiers' abduction was recorded by television news cameras and also by a soldier in a helicopter.
Screens have been set up in court to show videos if the judges decide to admit Dr Gudjonsson's evidence. It was not allowed at the original trial.
An English QC, Mr Peter Thornton, who appeared for Kane, told the court that Dr Gudjonsson's examination revealed that at the time of the murders Kane had a mental age of 11, was almost completely illiterate and had a high level of nervous anxiety.
He said these findings were relevant to the reliability of his admissions in the police station and his credibility when he gave evidence.
Mr Thornton said the defence case was that Kane was not in Casement Park and was not identified on the videos.
He said Kane admitted making admissions but said they were not true and were made under pressure because he was nervous and anxious to get out of the police station.
The lawyer said Dr Gudjonsson had found that Kane's psychological vulnerability manifested itself in a high state of anxiety and compliance.
This made Kane "inclined to consider the immediate or short-term consequences of his behaviour, not the long-term consequences of a confession, and consider that providing sufficient false details would get his immediate release.
"His low intelligence was not apparent to the court. Indeed, the reverse was the case because the trial judge (Lord Justice Carswell, now Lord Chief Justice) and the Appeal Court held that he was acting stupidly when he was, in fact, intellectually weak," said Mr Thornton.
The application to admit the new evidence was opposed by Crown counsel, Mr Ronald Appleton QC, who said Kane's admissions confirmed his identification on a video and vice versa.
"Together they form a very strong case against him," said Mrs Appleton. Referring to Kane's low IQ, he said: "Dr Gudjonsson does not go so far as to say that Kane was so stupid that he would make a false confession."
Mr Appleton said Kane's credibility took a steep dive in the eyes, of the trial judge after he was found to have lied over the colour of his anorak and shoes on the day of the murders.