Minister for Justice opposes application to halt transfer of Limerick boxer's murderer to UK prison

THE Minister for Justice is to fully contest a High Court challenge brought by the mother of murdered Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy aimed at preventing her son's killer from being transferred to a UK prison.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan was told this Thursday that the Minister is contesting the application brought by Tracey Tully, whose 20-year-old son was killed at Hyde Road Limerick on July,  2019, for permission to bring her judicial review action.

Anne Marie Lawlor SC, also told the court that the Minister also wants the matter to be 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.

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

When the matter returned before the court on Thursday Mr Justice Meenan was told that the contested leave application should take about an hour to hear.

Lawyers for Jackson, who was made a notice party to the proceedings by the Court, said their client is currently detained in solitary confinement within the Irish prison system, also wants the matter to be determined by the High Court as soon as possible.

The judge fixed July 15 as the date for the hearing of the action.

He also made directions regarding the exchange of legal submissions between the parties, which he said, are to be done in advance of July 6 next. 

In her judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Justice Ms Tully has challenged that decision and seeks an order from the court 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.

Mother of champion Limerick boxer vows to fight transfer of murderer to UK prison

She also claims any decision on a parole application by her son's killer would be in the hands of the authorities in another jurisdiction.

Ms Tully, represented by Arthur Griffin BL instructed by Mark Murphy Solicitors, 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." 

She also 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.