Mags GarganThe State is inflicting injustice on individuals
A former prison chaplain and human rights campaigner has criticised the justice system in Northern Ireland for not sufficiently protecting the rights of its citizens.
Msgr Raymond Murray (pictured) said that there was currently “no adequate procedure for undoing miscarriages of justice” in the North.
“We still have special courts,” he said. “During the 30 years conflict, Diplock Courts were not acceptable for people seeking truth and justice, and present tracings of its workings in the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 in non-jury courts, with their aura of injustice, are not acceptable.”
The priest, who campaigned for the release of the Birmingham Six, asked: “How can we fail to be anxious and concerned when we hear of injustice inflicted on individuals?
“The state is supposed to be the servant of its citizens, not the master. It always comes down to the individual with a name, a human being,” he said.
“We must not seek excuses for ourselves in the matter of injustice by just proclaiming the abstract.”
The Armagh priest was speaking at an event in Derry organised by supporters of Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton, who are serving life sentences for the murder of PSNI officer Stephen Carroll in 2009. The pair deny any part in the Continuity IRA attack.