Family’s anger erupts over father’s killer absconding again

The family of a man murdered in Londonderry have said they have been “failed by the justice system” after his killer escaped prison again.

One International police are searching for James Meehan55, who failed to return to Magilligan prison last week to complete his life sentence for the murder of Jim McFadden in Derry in 2007.

Mr McFadden’s daughters Danielle Bradley and Ashling Graham believe the decision to grant him temporary release again allowed him to abscond for a third time.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was working with police in the Republic of Ireland and internationally to find Meehan and return him to prison.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service has appealed directly for Meehan to be returned to custody immediately.

In 2009, Meehan Absconded during murder trial and was absent at sentencingBefore later surrendering himself to the police.

Co-defendants Brenda Meehan and her son Sean Deveney were also sentenced For his role in Mr. McFadden’s death.

In 2022, while on temporary release from prison, Meehan left the address where he was given permission to live and then failed to return, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued.

He was eventually found in the Republic of Ireland after 14 months. Before he was extradited back to Northern Ireland and sent back to prison.

But I am saying BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan ShowJohn Burrows, former police commander in Derry, said: “Temporary release is not a right – it’s a privilege, it has to be earned.

“He has broken the trust.”

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said granting Meehan temporary release was a “failure within the system”, adding that “we sometimes fail to put victims first”.

Danielle Bradley and Ashling Graham both described their father as a “gentle soul” and said the murder has devastated their entire family.

“He was always up for a laugh, now we love telling our young children how funny he really was,” Ms Bradley said.

“When you have your own kids you miss them more, so it’s really hard knowing they’re growing up without him.”

Mr McFadden was attacked after attending a family wedding in Redcastle, County Donegal.

Ms Bradley, who was 15 at the time, said she and her sister Ashling, also 16, still had memories of watching their father brutally attacked.

The 42-year-old man died of heart rupture due to multiple blows to the chest.

“It was chaotic – it was absolutely madness – there was roaring and shouting and then I remember seeing my father lying there,” Ms Bradley said.

“I remember my mother going over to him and saying: ‘Get up Jim, the kids are watching’, but he wasn’t moving.

“I didn’t think he was dead, I just thought he was unconscious and then, I don’t even know who called the police, I just remember the sirens.”

Ms Bradley said police told her family last week that Meehan had failed to return to prison since the day of his release.

The family told BBC News NI that they had objected to his release before and this time too, as he had previously absconded.

“I can’t understand how they kicked him out again.

“I feel like the justice system has let me down, I feel completely let down by myself – I really can’t believe we’re here again.”

Ms Graham described the decision as “ridiculous”, saying “he should never have been let out on release day”.

Ms Bradley said she believed her family would now have to go through a lengthy extradition process in an attempt to get him back behind bars.

In a statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the NI Prison Service said that to prepare prisoners for “release and reintegration back into society”, they would begin a “gradual release into the community” following risk assessment and representations. Are. victim.

It said that although some prisoners abscond upon release, this “must be considered in the context of the approximately 4,000 people who enter and leave our prisons each year”.

It says, “Managing those individuals is challenging and although every step is taken to minimize the risk, it is not an exact science and sometimes they make poor decisions which lead to them being released illegally at large.” But losses have to be borne.”

BBC News NI has also contacted the Parole Commissioners for comment.

The Garda Síochána said they could not comment as it was a PSNI matter.