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16/09/2004
Barrett gets life sentence for Finucane murder
Loyalist killer Ken Barrett has been sentenced to 22 years in jail for the murder of Catholic solicitor Pat Finucane at his north Belfast home in February 1989.
Mr Barrett entered a guilty plea at the beginning of his trial in the Crown Court in Belfast on Monday, having denied the murder at previous hearings.
During sentence proceedings at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday Mr Justice Weir described Mr Finucane's murder as "cruel and callous". "I have searched in vain for any semblance of genuine remorse in your various accounts of your participation in this crime contained in the court papers and have found, on the contrary, only boastful expressions of self satisfaction," Mr Justice Weir said.
Following Thursday's court sentencing Mr Justice Weir conceded that Barrett could be free within months under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, but said that this was "entirely outside the control of the Criminal Courts".
Mr Finucane's murder has remained one of the most controversial killings in the history of the Troubles because of the allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and members of the security forces.
His widow Geraldine has challenged the government's decision to delay a public inquiry into her husband's death. The inquiry was recommended by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory earlier this year.
(MMCG/MB)
Mr Barrett entered a guilty plea at the beginning of his trial in the Crown Court in Belfast on Monday, having denied the murder at previous hearings.
During sentence proceedings at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday Mr Justice Weir described Mr Finucane's murder as "cruel and callous". "I have searched in vain for any semblance of genuine remorse in your various accounts of your participation in this crime contained in the court papers and have found, on the contrary, only boastful expressions of self satisfaction," Mr Justice Weir said.
Following Thursday's court sentencing Mr Justice Weir conceded that Barrett could be free within months under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, but said that this was "entirely outside the control of the Criminal Courts".
Mr Finucane's murder has remained one of the most controversial killings in the history of the Troubles because of the allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and members of the security forces.
His widow Geraldine has challenged the government's decision to delay a public inquiry into her husband's death. The inquiry was recommended by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory earlier this year.
(MMCG/MB)
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