Loophole in system could help Gallagher stay free

An extradition warrant will be issued against John Gallagher if he is located in Britain, despite uncertainty as to whether such an order would be granted.

Garda spokesman Insp John Farrelly said paperwork was being prepared with the Chief State Solicitor's office to issue an extradition warrant in the event of his being found outside the State. According to Mr Michael Forde SC, an expert on criminal and extradition law, the question of extradition depends on how British judges interpret Gallagher's plea of "guilty but insane".

Another legal source said that because Gallagher was found "guilty but insane" of the murders of his girlfriend, Ms Anne Gillespie (18) and her mother Annie in 1988, he was effectively acquitted of the crime.

Ms Gillespie was shot dead alongside her mother in the grounds of Sligo General Hospital in 1988. Ms Gillespie had recently ended a relationship with Gallagher and her family had made complaints to the Garda that he had raped her.

Gardai now believe Gallagher, who escaped from the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum on Sunday, may have fled to Britain. The Garda International Liaison Office has put out an alert with both Europol and Interpol that he is being sought here. The British Backing of Warrants Act (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965, part of the reciprocal legislative arrangement with this State, requires either a primafacie case against a person or that a conviction be in place before a British court can grant an extradition order.

A plea of "guilty but insane" is regarded in Irish law as an acquittal, according to another legal source.

Reform of the law relating to the insanity plea in murder cases has been promised for over 20 years. The fact that Gallagher had been deemed legally sane shortly after his detention in the Central Mental Hospital meant that his continued detention there was possible only on the grounds of Government decision. Currently a jury faced with a killer showing signs of mental disturbance has two choices - to find the defendant sane and guilty or guilty but insane. If a person is deemed sane after the return of a verdict of guilty but insane, the possibility is they may have to be treated as innocent.

Mr Forde, however, said there was a possibility that Gallagher, if found outside the State, could be deported.

He added that if taken in an EU state, such a route may contravene EU law on the free movement of people. There is also the possibility of seeking Gallagher's return to the care of the State, although if he is now deemed legally sane and is not a minor, this may not succeed.