“The case of convicted murderer James Meehan shows just how dysfunctional our justice system is in Northern Ireland. 

“Having been convicted of the brutal murder of Jim McFadden, in Londonderry, James Meehan was sentenced to a minimum 14-year life sentence in 2009. A sentence he was to serve in a Northern Ireland prison. In 2022, as part of the pre-release scheme, Meehan was staying in Burren House prison wing but was allowed to go to an address in Limavady at the weekend. It was from here Meehan absconded and crossed the border into the Irish Republic where he remained at large for 17 months while he fought an extradition order. For this, he was given a nine-month sentence on top of his life sentence.

“Lesson learned, not a bit of it.

“In December 2024, our prison service let him out, once again, on day release from His Majesties Prison Magilligan. Yet again he has absconded to Meath in the Irish Republic where he has been sitting happily for nearly three months. The Garda know where he is, they have visited him, but he remains at large while extradition paperwork is prepared by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“This is a farcical situation and one that the Justice Minister must get a grip off. Her answer to me in a written question asking if arrangements will be reviewed was ‘She is content that these arrangements remain appropriate’, this is wholly unacceptable. Indeed, what the family of the victim has gone through, due to this inept system the Minister deems appropriate, seems to be ignored as we concentrate on perpetrators time and time again. Was the victim’s family ever considered when the decisions were taken to let him out, is the family being kept updated about the situation, I doubt the answer to either question is ‘yes’.

“Our justice system is staffed by some exceptional men and women who work extremely hard, but it is losing all credibility due to poor departmental management. Confidence in our justice system is at a low level and instances like this just add to the view that victims are secondary to perpetrators when making decisions of this nature.”