At risk killer Sean Hackett denied medical treatment claim

Psychiatrists could be set to hold talks in a bid to resolve legal action being taken by a former Tyrone GAA star jailed for shooting dead his father.
Pacemaker Press Belfast 09-01-2013: Young Tyrone  Gaelic footballer Sean Hackett leaves  Hydebank Wood Prison with Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte and his Solicitor  ,  He was granted compassionate bail to attend his father's funeral on wednesday   after appearing at Omagh on tuesday charged with murdering his father Aloysius Hackett at his home on Aghindarragh Road in Augher on Friday night , County Tyrone.  Picture By: Pacemaker.Pacemaker Press Belfast 09-01-2013: Young Tyrone  Gaelic footballer Sean Hackett leaves  Hydebank Wood Prison with Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte and his Solicitor  ,  He was granted compassionate bail to attend his father's funeral on wednesday   after appearing at Omagh on tuesday charged with murdering his father Aloysius Hackett at his home on Aghindarragh Road in Augher on Friday night , County Tyrone.  Picture By: Pacemaker.
Pacemaker Press Belfast 09-01-2013: Young Tyrone Gaelic footballer Sean Hackett leaves Hydebank Wood Prison with Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte and his Solicitor , He was granted compassionate bail to attend his father's funeral on wednesday after appearing at Omagh on tuesday charged with murdering his father Aloysius Hackett at his home on Aghindarragh Road in Augher on Friday night , County Tyrone. Picture By: Pacemaker.

Sean Hackett is challenging alleged failures to provide medical treatment for his diagnosed delusional order.

But a High Court judge was told on Friday that one expert who believes the 22-year-old harboured a secret need to kill either of his parents has suggested discussions with colleagues in clinical disagreement.

Encouraging any talks that could find a solution, Mr Justice Maguire said: “This case cries out for serious, deliberate attempts to see if there’s a path forward.”

Hackett is currently serving a minimum seven-year sentence for the manslaughter of his father Aloysius in January 2013.

A jury found him guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility after acquitting him of murder.

Aloysius Hackett, a former chairman of St Macartan’s GAC in Augher, was shot twice in the head on the driveway of the family home on the Aghindarrah Road near Augher, Co Tyrone.

His son Sean, who previously captained the Tyrone Minor GAA team, admitted carrying out the shooting but consistently denied murder.

At his trial it was set out how he had suffered depression in the preceding months, triggered by a split from his girlfriend.

In September last year he won his appeal against the original sentence of 10 years behind bars before he can be considered for release on licence.

Up to five psychiatrists backed the view that Hackett was in a delusional state of mind when he carried out the killing at the age of 18.

One of those experts who gave evidence at his appeal was Dr Carine Minne, who is based at the high security Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.

She told the court Hackett suffers from one of the purest forms of delusional disorder she has ever encountered - with no other case like it in Northern Ireland.

Hackett remains both a suicide and homicide risk while he remains untreated, senior judges were told.

They held, on the balance of probabilities, that he had been suffering from a delusional disorder at the time of the shooting and continues to do so.

Based on the additional medical evidence, the Court of Appeal accepted his ability to form a rational judgment had been significantly impaired.

At the time Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan decided against making a hospital order, but said the case required the Department of Justice to urgently consider a transfer.

He also identified a compelling need for Hackett to receive appropriate psychotherapy at a suitable location.

However, the prisoner’s legal team issued legal proceedings amid claims that prison authorities have failed to comply with those recommendations.

Earlier this year he was granted leave to seek a judicial review against both the Department of Justice and the South Eastern Trust.

But barrister Desmond Fahy, representing the Hackett family, revealed today that Dr Minne has suggested holding discussions with other psychiatrists “entrenched” in their differing views on the case.

Adjourning the case for three weeks, Justice Maguire told the parties: “I encourage all measures to try to arrive at a practical way forward.”

Related topics: