Fatal crash man wins ban appeal
Temporary release to be reviewed
THE man responsible for Ireland’s worst ever road crash has won his bid to overturn a ban on his temporary release.
Shaun Kelly, who was jailed in 2014 for dangerous driving causing the deaths of eight people, will now have his case reviewed by Minister for Justice Charlie Flangan.
The High Court heard that Kelly, 29, had earned the opportunity for temporary release in February this year.
When pictures later emerged of Kelly working on the family farm during one of his releases, the Justice Minister withdrew his temporary release, citing concerns for the prisoner’s ‘own safety and protection’ following ‘unprecedented media attention, all of which was negative and focused on a loss of life’.
Judge Mary Faherty ruled that the law only permitted the Minister to consider whether a prisoner’s temporary release would result in a threat to a member of the public. She said the law did not cover any perceived threat to the safety of the prisoner himself.
Kelly, of Ballymagan, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, had been watching the soccer World Cup final in a bar in Clonmany, Co. Donegal, in July 2010 before taking seven friends in his Volkswagen Passat. His vehicle struck a car on the road before it went into a spin and collided with another oncoming vehicle.
A 66-year-old male driver was also killed in the incident. In 2014, Kelly was sentenced to eight years in prison with four suspended.
In an application for enhanced remission, Kelly set out his remorse, and his awareness of the devastating loss and ongoing grief for the families of the eight victims. Judge Flaherty denied the application.