Jail release bid halted in case of man who killed female PSNI officer Philippa Reynolds

Shane Frane, 34, is serving an indeterminate sentence with a minimum tariff of six years for the killing of constable Philippa Reynolds in a road crash.

The 27-year-old officer died after a stolen vehicle driven by Frane struck a police car in the Waterside area of Londonderry on February 9, 2013.

In March last year the Parole Commissioners refused to direct his release because they could not be satisfied his imprisonment was no longer necessary to protect the public from serious harm. The panel cited a need for prolonged testing to ensure any risk he posed could be managed in the community.

Frane mounted a legal challenge against the Northern Ireland Probation Board and the Prison Service for alleged failures to provide him with the opportunity to demonstrate his suitability for release. The prisoner claimed a breach of his right to liberty under European law.

His lawyers also argued that the respondents had failed to adhere to Parole Commissioners recommendations to hold a case conference about a pathway towards permitting him to show a risk reduction in a community setting.

The court heard Frane has been given periods of accompanied and unaccompanied temporary release. Pre-release testing was suspended because of failed drugs tests, but earlier this year he became one of the first prisoners to have it reinstated following the lifting of Covid restrictions.

Ruling on the challenge, Mr Justice Humphreys said: “His own misconduct, in the form of failed drugs tests, is the reason why his progress in this area was derailed. Both in May and October 2021 the applicant failed tests, resulting in an effective suspension on each occasion for a period of three months.

“None of the grounds for judicial review have been made out and the application is dismissed.”