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23/05/2006
Barrett gains release from prison
The man convicted of the 1989 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has been released from prison.
Ken Barrett, handed down a life sentence in 2004, after he admitted involvement in the murder of the prominent Belfast solicitor, was told that he could spend at least 22-years in prison.
He was also told that he would not qualify for early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, because he was to be held in an English prison. However, this changed in 2005, when he was transferred to Maghaberry Jail in Northern Ireland.
Following a three-day hearing, the Sentence Review Commission decided to release Ken Barrett from Magaberry Prison.
The Commission had to decide if he had a connection to paramilitaries and whether he posed a threat to the general public.
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain is reported to have opposed the release.
Solicitor Pat Finucane was shot dead in front of his wife and family, by the UDA in 1989.
The murder was one of the most controversial in the history of the troubles and the family have always maintained that there was police collusion in the solicitor's death.
(SP/KMcA)
Ken Barrett, handed down a life sentence in 2004, after he admitted involvement in the murder of the prominent Belfast solicitor, was told that he could spend at least 22-years in prison.
He was also told that he would not qualify for early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, because he was to be held in an English prison. However, this changed in 2005, when he was transferred to Maghaberry Jail in Northern Ireland.
Following a three-day hearing, the Sentence Review Commission decided to release Ken Barrett from Magaberry Prison.
The Commission had to decide if he had a connection to paramilitaries and whether he posed a threat to the general public.
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain is reported to have opposed the release.
Solicitor Pat Finucane was shot dead in front of his wife and family, by the UDA in 1989.
The murder was one of the most controversial in the history of the troubles and the family have always maintained that there was police collusion in the solicitor's death.
(SP/KMcA)
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