The High Court has rejected Jonathon Caffrey’s bid for immediate release from custody after finding that the expiry of a 12-year minimum term attached to his English murder sentence did not bring his imprisonment to an end.
Caffrey was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment in England in December 1999 for the murder of Andrew Cook. The trial judge recommended that he serve a minimum of 12 years before release could be considered. His sentence was backdated to March 1998, meaning that period expired in March 2010.
He had transferred to Ireland in May 2005 to serve the balance of his sentence closer to his family. Before the move, he was told that he should expect, except in exceptional circumstances, to serve at least the UK tariff and that there was no guarantee of temporary release in Ireland.
In his Article 40 habeas corpus application, Caffrey argued that the English sentence consisted of a 12-year punitive period followed by preventative detention. He said that because preventative detention was not permitted under Irish sentencing law, his custody became unlawful once the tariff expired.
Mr Justice Charleton rejected that analysis. He held that the legal nature of the sentence was imprisonment for life, not a 12-year sentence followed by a different form of custody. A recommendation about the minimum period before release did not alter the sentence itself.
The judge also held that once Caffrey transferred to Ireland, the administration of his sentence was governed by Irish law. The Irish Parole Board had reviewed his case and was focusing on rehabilitation, with a possible future transfer to the training unit and development of a release plan.
The court said consent to transfer could not make an otherwise unlawful detention lawful. However, in this case the detention had a valid legal foundation.
Caffrey therefore remained lawfully imprisoned and was left to continue rehabilitation pending any future release decision by the Minister on advice from the Parole Board.