A New York police officer accused of fatally shooting a Northern Ireland immigrant in a Bronx apartment three years ago was convicted of manslaughter yesterday after a controversial six-week trial.
Judge Steven Barrett convicted Richard Molloy of second-degree manslaughter, rejecting the officer's claim that Derry-born Mr Hessy Phelan shot himself in the head after the two men left a bar together in January 1996.
Phelan family supporters broke into cheers outside the court.
Mr Phelan's sister, Martina Boback, told reporters: "Hessy has got justice, my mother has got justice. This time the system worked."
But attorneys for the officer called the decision a travesty of justice and plan to appeal.
Molloy will appear in Bronx State Supreme Court on May 12th for sentencing. He faces from 3 1/2 to 15 years for the manslaughter charge.
The case, marked by controversy and protests, touched a nerve in the city's Irish community. Mr Phelan had served 10 years in the Maze Prison for INLA-related activities before emigrating to the United States.
Charges against Molloy were initially dropped, but the Phelan family protested, and the case made its slow passage through the legal system.
Molloy testified that Mr Phelan had managed to pull out his offduty service revolver and shoot himself in the head. But prosecutors claimed the enraged officer shoved the 0.38 calibre weapon into Mr Phelan's left eye and pulled the trigger.
George Jackson, in Derry, writes:
Mr Phelan's mother, Anna, said: "Justice has been done but it won't bring my son back. I have no feelings at all for Officer Molloy, but I do feel sad for his mother."