Judge refuses to release raider early

A BURGLAR who terrorised a businessman and his family in their home in order to steal jewellery worth up to €100,000 has lost his High Court bid for early release from jail.

Brian McGinley, now 45, was a member of a gang that entered the home of Westmeath businessman Damien Kilmartin with iron bars, a sledgehammer and baseball bat.

Judge Paul Coffey refused to release father-of-six McGinley from jail by Christmas simply on the basis that he has done woodwork and computer courses and worked as the prison gardener.

Refusing a request for enhanced remission for good behaviour, the judge said releasing serious offenders early has ‘very serious consequences for the community at large’.

McGinley was the only member of the gang to be prosecuted and convicted over the 2005 burglary in Athlone. He began a ten-year jail term in December 2010. In 2013, he lost an appeal against his sentence.

In September, McGinley went to the High Court to seek early release. He is currently due for release by mid-2018 at the latest but wanted to get out earlier.

McGinley, formerly of Blackberry Lane, Athlone, had been refused enhanced remission by the Justice Minister before mounting his civil action. Yesterday, Judge Coffey decided McGinley’s crime was simply ‘so serious and alarming’ he could not be freed from jail yet. McGinley was not in court.

‘Enhanced remission not only has consequences for the prisoner but also has very serious consequences for the community at large,’ Judge Coffey decided.

Even if a prisoner has engaged in education courses behind bars, ‘the starting point in any assessment of this issue must be a consideration of the criminality of the prisoner… of which he has been convicted and imprisoned’, the judge ruled.