A man who has served 16 years of a 40-year prison sentence for the capital murder of a garda has been given leave to appeal against his conviction on the basis that he has new evidence.
Noel Callan represented himself in the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, where Mr Justice Geoghegan said his application would receive a hearing date in December. In the meantime, the court would hear Callan's application for legal aid in October.
Callan was a 23-year-old car dealer from Cullaville, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan when he and Michael McHugh, a motor mechanic of Clonalig, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh were sentenced to death by the Special Criminal Court in December 1985 for the capital murder of Sgt Patrick Morrissey (49) at Tallanstown, Co Louth on June 27th, 1985. The sentences were later commuted to 40 years' imprisonment.
The two men were also sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for the robbery of £25,000 from the Ardee Labour Exchange on the same day.
Giving the Special Criminal Court's decision, the late Mr Justice Hamilton said he was satisfied McHugh had fired the shot which killed Sgt Morrissey and Callan was, by common design, guilty of the capital murder.
The court was told that Sgt Morrissey was shot dead after he chased two men who had earlier robbed the Ardee exchange. He was first wounded in the leg by a bullet and then, as he tried to get up, was shot a second time in the face.
Yesterday, Callan asked the appeal court for legal aid to process his appeal. He claims his conviction was based entirely on statements he was alleged to have made and which were given in evidence by gardai. He said the Special Criminal Court relied on uncorroborated verbal admissions to establish he participated in the Ardee robbery.
Callan said he had always denied making such statements. He had retained a forensic expert who has calculated that the statements and utterances alleged by gardai to have been made by him were in fact distinguishable from his own utterances and language.
He claims that if such forensic evidence had been available at the time of his trial it would have been highly significant as to whether he had made the alleged admissions to the gardai.
Mr Maurice Gaffney SC, for the DPP, told the court that Callan was making a highly technical submission and it was necessary for the DPP to consult an expert.