Convicted INLA killer Declan ‘Whacker’ Duffy has launched new legal action to secure a chance to show if he can be safely freed from jail.
The former republican paramilitary hitman is seeking to judicially review a Northern Ireland Prison Service decision that he is currently ineligible for pre-release testing in the community.
Duffy, 50, is serving a life sentence for the murder of a British soldier in Derby, England 33 years ago.
Sergeant Michael Newman, 34, was shot dead outside an army recruitment office in April, 1992.
Duffy received a minimum 24-year jail term after pleading guilty to the assassination in 2010, but was initially freed on licence in March 2013 under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
In 2015 he was arrested again by gardai and subsequently convicted of the false imprisonment of a man in Co Dublin.
With his licence revoked, he was extradited to Northern Ireland in 2020 on completing the six-year sentence imposed in the Republic.
Duffy is currently behind bars at HMP Maghaberry, where his tariff for murdering Sergeant Newman is not due to expire until 2034.
In May last year he lost a case after the Sentence Review Commissioners refused to declare him eligible for early release under provisions in the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998.
That decision was based on an assessment of the potential risk of harm to the public.
His lawyers returned to the High Court today to challenge a Prison Service policy which blocks his attempt to secure a temporary period in the community.
Under the current arrangements life sentence prisoners can only be considered for the pre-release testing three years before their tariff expiry date.
It was contended that the policy should not apply to Duffy due to his unique circumstances.
The court heard he is the only Good Friday Agreement-release prisoner who is currently behind bars.
Duffy’s barrister, Laura McMahon KC, argued that his status under the 1998 Act means he has an accelerated right to release.
But indications were also given that a case conference may soon be held to consider his case based on efforts to demonstrate rehabilitation.
Adjourning the case, Mr Justice McAlinden gave the prison authorities six weeks to put those arrangements in place.
The judge stressed: “Unless there’s progress I will be granting leave (to seek a judicial review) and pushing on to a full hearing.
“There is the issue of rehabilitation of this individual, has he demonstrated he has done everything in his power to show that.”