On-the-run killer tracked down in Ireland as barrister makes claim of 'remorse'

An on-the-run police killer faces an "extreme and draconian" sentencing regime if he is sent back to prison in Northern Ireland, the High Court has heard.

Christopher Shane Frane (36) was sentenced to a minimum of six years for the manslaughter of a police officer in 2013. The sentencing judge also gave Frane an Indefinite Custodial Sentence that requires him to remain in prison until he can prove he is no longer a danger to the public. Frane absconded from Northern Ireland on January 24 this year when on day-release from prison and was arrested in the Republic in February on foot of an extradition warrant.

Frane had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Constable Philippa Reynolds. Ms Reynolds (27) was the back seat passenger in a police patrol car that was struck by a stolen Toyota Landcruiser driven by Frane in February 2013 in Derry. She was killed instantly.

Frane's barrister, Karen Quinlivan KC today argued before Mr Justice Patrick McGrath at the High Court that to surrender her client would be a breach of his rights under the Constitution and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. She said it is accepted that Frane has shown genuine remorse and regret and has embraced opportunities for rehabilitation in prison.

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However, before allowing Frane's release, the parole board in Northern Ireland must be satisfied that he no longer poses a risk to the community. This requirement, counsel said, sets an "almost impossible standard" for him to meet and despite his efforts he has not been cleared for release. Ms Quinlivan pointed out that a judge of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has described Indefinite Custodial Sentences as "extreme and draconian" and urged lawmakers to reconsider them.

Ms Quinlivan said it is a well-established principle that preventing risk to the public cannot be the only objective of sentencing.
A sentence requiring a person to prove they are no longer a risk to society would be unconstitutional in this jurisdiction, she said, and such a regime represents an egregious and fundamental defect in the sentencing regime in Northern Ireland.

John Fitzgerald SC, for the Minister for Justice, said that Ms Quinlivan was asking the court to look behind the decisions made by a parole board in a different jurisdiction. He said this is not permitted in law. For the court to refuse surrender on Constitutional grounds, he said the respondent would have to show that there was an "egregious defect" in the system that cannot be remedied. The Northern Irish authorities, he said, are presumed to comply with conventional legal requirements and will allow any issue to be litigated. The High Court in Dublin, he said, is not an appeal court for the parole commission in Northern Ireland.

Mr Justice Patrick McGrath will deliver his judgment at a later date.