John Shaw prepares fresh legal challenge over escorted release days

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

John Shaw, Ireland’s longest-serving prisoner, was preparing a fresh legal challenge after receiving no escorted release days despite the Minister for Justice having accepted the recommendation that he get two days a year. The Irish Prison Service declined to comment on his case.

Shaw had been in custody since 1976, serving a life sentence for murder, rape and false imprisonment. The Parole Board’s most recent hearings had found him unsuitable for full release because he continued to pose a danger to women; the report said that did not affect his entitlement to escorted temporary release.