'Vulnerable' man jailed for murder of a father-of-nine in Londonderry was denied fair trial, court told

Counsel for Sean Rodgers, 38, claimed jurors were not properly directed on his case of acting in self-defence during events surrounding the killing of Edward Meenan in November 2018.

The defendant, with an IQ in the low 60s, was also allegedly hampered by dismissing a previous legal team. Martin O’Rourke KC submitted: “The outcome which inevitably follows is that this was an unfair trial.”

Mr Meenan, 52, was stabbed and beaten with a suspected baseball bat outside a house in the Creggan Street area of the city.

Many of the knife wounds were assessed as having been inflicted when he was already dead or close to death. The victim’s body was then stripped down to his boxer shorts and dumped in an alleyway.

The court heard he had arrived at the house alongside his friend William McConnell, with both of them wearing balaclavas. Fighting broke out after three men emerged from the property to confront the pair.

Mr McConnell managed to flee the scene, but Mr Meenan was subjected to what the trial judge described as a “sustained and brutal” assault.

Rodgers and his two co-defendants, Derek Creswell, 34, and 27-year-old Ryan Walters, accepted being at the house but all initially denied involvement.

In 2022, however, Cresswell admitted the murder and was ordered to serve at least 15 years in jail, while Walters received an eight-year sentence following his conviction for manslaughter.

Rodgers was also found guilty of Mr Meenan’s murder and handed a minimum 18-year prison term. He is now seeking to overturn the conviction on the grounds of it being unsafe.

Appeal judges heard he claims to have acted in self-defence amid fears the masked men who appeared at the house were from the IRA.

Rodgers maintains he only attacked Mr Meenan with his feet and fists, denied any use of weapons or stabbing the deceased.

During extensive arguments, his barrister challenged how the trial judge dealt with issues around loss of control and the justification for successfully establishing self-defence: that the use of force must be necessary and proportionate to any threat.

Mr O’Rourke also highlighted how Rodgers was left without legal representatives for part of the process.

“This is someone with an IQ of 63,” he told the court. “Discharging (his lawyers) imposed an enhanced burden to ensure everything is done procedurally correct.”

Instead, according to counsel, Rodgers had been prejudiced by how the trial unfolded.

“The gravity of the procedural errors in this case are sufficient to negate the safety of the conviction,” Mr O’Rourke added.

But Liam McCollum KC, prosecuting, insisted none of the points raised impacted on the fairness of Rodgers’ trial for the muder of Mr Meenan.

“There is no basis upon which any tribunal of fact could consider the injuries inflicted on this man were reasonable in any circumstances,” he said.

The appeal continues.