Elation, anger and sadness as judge recommends man jailed for murdering Limerick priest be exonerated

A CAMPAIGNER has spoken of his elation, anger and sadness after hearing a judge recommend the exoneration of a man convicted of killing a Limerick priest in the USA.

Scott Lomax, who helped run the campaign to free Barry George, wrongly convicted of the murder of Jill Dando, has supported the efforts of James Reyos to clear his name for almost two decades.

Mr Reyos was convicted of the murder of Patrick Ryan, aged 49, from Doon, who was found dead in a motel room in Odessa, Texas on December 21, 1981. He was beaten to death.

The savage killing of the Pallottine priest made headlines in USA, Ireland and shocked County Limerick. A 24-year-old Apache Indian (Mr Reyos) was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the heinous crime, however, newly-discovered evidence points at other possible perpetrators.

The Innocence Project of Texas filed a lawsuit earlier this year asserting Mr Reyos’ innocence as a result of recently discovered evidence by members of the Odessa Police Department (OPD). See story below

New clues in case of murdered Limerick priest

On Monday, Judge Denn Whalen, of Ector County Court in Texas - the court where James was convicted in June 1983 - recommended that Mr Reyos be exonerated and that his case should proceed to the appeals court. 

Mr Reyos’ attorney Allison Clayton, of the Innocence Project of Texas, contacted Mr Lomax shortly after to share the news and sent him the 57-page document.

“The judge's recommendation is made in a 57-page document which concludes that, 'Based on the preceding findings of fact and conclusions of law, the trial court recommends the Court of Criminal Appeals find Mr Reyos actually innocent of the conviction of the murder of Father Patrick "Paddy" Ryan and that it vacate his conviction for Father Ryan’s murder’,” said Mr Lomax.

He said they are not quite at the exoneration stage but "this a huge step in the right direction”. 

“When I heard the news, and read the 57-page document, I became very emotional and don't mind admitting that tears came to my eyes. I cannot find the right words to express how I feel, because no words do it justice. I am elated, because it is a wonderful decision by the judge, though I am angry that it has taken all these years for a court to realise that this miscarriage of justice has taken place. 

“And I feel sad for James, that he has had to endure the agony of being wrongly convicted for all these years. I am 40 years old, and James was charged when I was a few weeks old, and that fact has always been in my mind when I think of this case. Throughout all my life experiences, James has been fighting to clear his name,” said Mr Lomax, who also feels sad that justice was never achieved for Fr Ryan. 

“His killers took their secret to their graves knowing that an innocent man was doing time for their crime. The only solace is that James' name is going to be cleared, and it will be cleared in his lifetime,” said Mr Lomax, who described the forensic evidence found by the police as a “game-changer and has led the Innocence Project to be able to take the case back to court”.