Baseball batmurderer fails in appeal bid

Mervyn Moon was jailed for his part in the fatal attack on 15-year-old Michael McIlveen in Ballymena, back in May 2006.

Moon, 32, had previously been freed on licence after serving the minimum 10-year tariff on his life sentence.

In 2017 those arrangements were revoked and he was recalled to prison for an alleged breach.

He issued judicial review proceedings against Northern Ireland’s Parole Commissioners for refusing to let him out again in June 2020 following a risk assessment. Even though Moon was subsequently released for a second time last December, he challenged the lawfulness of the earlier decision. He was also attempting to claim damages for false imprisonment.

But a judge ruled today that the Commissioners were entitled to deny the earlier release, based on the material available to them.

Mr Justice Colton said: “It was open to the panel to conclude that the index offence demonstrated that at that time the applicant did present a risk of serious harm given his conduct and the manner of the brutal assault on his victim.

“In addition, it was appropriate to recognise that the conduct was influenced by the fact that the applicant was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”

Michael McIlveen, known to his friends and family as ‘Micky Bo’, died from brain injuries sustained in the sectarian attack.

He was kicked and beaten by a group of Protestant youths who pursued him into an alleyway in his hometown.

Moon, from Douglas Terrace in Ballymena, was said to have wielded the baseball bat handed to him by another gang member.

He pleaded guilty to murder and was ordered to spend at least 10 years behind bars. His lawyers argued that the Parole Commissioners had imposed a burden on him to prove he was no longer a risk of serious harm - which could only be met by further testing.

Contending that he had lost control in a “one-off situation”, they insisted the focus should be on the current risk level.

Counsel for the Parole Commissioners countered that his release from custody in December meant the case was now academic.

In a determination of the legal merits, Mr Justice Colton cited the panel’s concerns that Moon would return to taking drink and drugs to cope with the increased stress he was likely to face in the community.

“It is the court’s view that all of this material was sufficient to establish a current credible risk,” the judge said.

Dismissing the legal action, he confirmed: “The overall reasoning of the panel is capable of withstanding proper scrutiny.”