Monday, March 10, 2008
“did not equate to a reduction in jail terms for terrorist offences..”
The BBC report that three men have been sentenced to 9 years after pleading guilty to having explosives with intent to enable others to cause serious damage to property. The three, Daire McKenna, Colin Avery and Stephen Coleman, of Lurgan, were arrrested in raids at two sheds in Lurgan in April 2006. At the time, the arrests were followed by attacks on the police in the area and the temporary closure of the railway track after masked men drove a van onto the track and set it on fire. From today’s BBC report
The judge said that although the men had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, “their role in providing others with such a product still remains a serious offence for which condign periods of imprisonment will be imposed”. He said a reduction in terrorist violence in recent times did not equate to a reduction in jail terms for terrorist offences.
Pete Baker @ 05:25 PM
Daire, McKenna
I bet you he changed his name to become more Orish
Posted by on Mar 11, 2008 @ 10:31 AMAnd I bet you have no clue. We’re being slightly inundated with trolling activities (from a number of angles). Please read the commenting rules above. If you can’t stick to them, then please take your man playing somewhere else!
Posted by on Mar 11, 2008 @ 11:24 AMI was watching the final episode of Provos The IRA and Sinn Fein last night. I feel that the RIRA and CIRA volunteers in jail serving long setences have really got the short end of the stick (from the Republican side). Quite a few are doing 20+ years. Under what conditions, if any, do people see them getting out early?
“Some said that their cause was a failure”
Failure, maybe no, back burner yes.
Posted by on Mar 11, 2008 @ 12:28 PMIt would be interesting to know if Sinn Féin regard these and other prisoners of a similar political persuausion as political prisoners or common criminals.
Posted by on Mar 11, 2008 @ 01:11 PMCharlie Kearns above has raised a question to which I, a wholehearted ( and, I would like to believe, wholesome) supporter of Sinn Fein and its GFA negotiation, would like to see clarified. But - more importantly - I need to clarify my own response to that question and I have to say that, to my shame, I have not given sufficient thought to it.
Charlie Kearns’s question now pricks my conscience and I will think upon it and respond when I have an answer arising from my own consideration of the question.
It would help my deliberations if I knew which and how many prisoners of this category were sentenced prior to the signing of the GFA. While my need to ascertain this knowledge might easily appear to prefer the politic over the principle I can only but plead that it does not. It becomes helpful in assisting how best the practicality of exercising the principled stance might be - whatever that might turn out to be.
Posted by on Mar 13, 2008 @ 12:26 AM
