A man serving a 40-year sentence for the murder of a garda in Co Roscommon more than 20 years ago is seeking to take a High Court challenge to his sentence on the grounds it is inhumane, an affront to human dignity and unconstitutional.
Colm O'Shea has been imprisoned since 1980 following his conviction for the murder of Garda Henry Byrne and has a release date of November 27th, 2020.
In May 1981, O'Shea's death sentence was commuted by the President to 40 years of penal servitude, to be served without remission.
O'Shea is challenging on the grounds that such a long sentence makes no allowance for any kind of rehabilitation and is such an affront to human dignity that it contravenes Article 40.3 of the Constitution and the overall objective of the dignity and freedom of the individual proclaimed in the preamble to the Constitution.
O'Shea had secured leave from the Supreme Court in February 2001 to bring proceedings seeking his early release under the provisions of the Belfast Agreement.
However, in court yesterday, Dr Michael Forde SC, for O'Shea, said he would have difficulty arguing that case in light of recent court decisions, including this week's High Court rejection of a bid for early release under the terms of the agreement by two men jailed in connection with the 1996 robbery at Adare, Co Limerick, in which Det Garda Jerry McCabe was killed.
Dr Forde is expected to apply shortly for leave to take the new proceedings via judicial review.
