2.12.04
Belfast Telegraph
Belfast man freed on bail by judges
Milnes set to enjoy Christmas at home
By Ben Lowry and Mary Fitzgerald
02 December 2004
The west Belfast man jailed for assaulting a teenager he believed was stealing his girlfriend's car today thanked those who had campaigned for his release, saying the level of support showed his case had struck a chord with other victims of crime.
Kieran Milnes was released on bail by the Court of Appeal in Belfast yesterday following his conviction last month for inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Kieran (28), who has been the subject of a campaign for his sentence to be quashed, thanked those who had supported him.
At the same time as the bail hearing was going on in Belfast yesterday, other members of Milnes's family were in London to present the Attorney General with a petition signed by 5,000 calling for his release.
"The level of support I have received just shows you that this is an issue close to people's hearts," he told the Belfast Telegraph.
"So many people in west Belfast have been touched by crime. I did what I thought was the right thing to do. This opens up the issue of what people can and cannot do to defend themselves."
Milnes was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm on a 15-year-old suspected joyrider.
Lawyers will try to have his guilty plea nullified to be followed by a re-trial before a judge and jury.
Milnes said he was "hopeful" of a successful outcome.
"After my experience so far I haven't much confidence in the legal system but my solicitor is upbeat and I am fairly hopeful. We'll see what happens," he said.
Granting bail pending appeal, the Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said: "It must be made clear that this does not in any way represent a forecast of the outcome of the application for leave to appeal."
He said the 15-year-old boy had suffered a depressed compound fracture of the skull and a doctor who examined him had concluded that the injury was consistent with a blow from a hammer.
Milnes has denied using a hammer in the incident in October 2002 and claimed he was only protecting his property and his family.
But Sir Brian said a probation officer's pre-sentence report indicated that he had used a hammer.
However, the judges accepted the submission by defence QC Eilis McDermott that it was an exceptional case and bail should be granted as Milnes would have served about half his sentence by the time an appeal was heard.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said he had "listened carefully" to what Sinn Fein MLA Michael Ferguson and the Milnes family had to say yesterday.
"He found it very useful to listen to what they had to say, and to know the extent of public concern in Northern Ireland."
Lord Goldsmith stressed that he has "considerable sympathy" with victims of crime, but said that individuals must not take the law into their own hands.
Belfast man freed on bail by judges
Milnes set to enjoy Christmas at home
By Ben Lowry and Mary Fitzgerald
02 December 2004
The west Belfast man jailed for assaulting a teenager he believed was stealing his girlfriend's car today thanked those who had campaigned for his release, saying the level of support showed his case had struck a chord with other victims of crime.
Kieran Milnes was released on bail by the Court of Appeal in Belfast yesterday following his conviction last month for inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Kieran (28), who has been the subject of a campaign for his sentence to be quashed, thanked those who had supported him.
At the same time as the bail hearing was going on in Belfast yesterday, other members of Milnes's family were in London to present the Attorney General with a petition signed by 5,000 calling for his release.
"The level of support I have received just shows you that this is an issue close to people's hearts," he told the Belfast Telegraph.
"So many people in west Belfast have been touched by crime. I did what I thought was the right thing to do. This opens up the issue of what people can and cannot do to defend themselves."
Milnes was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm on a 15-year-old suspected joyrider.
Lawyers will try to have his guilty plea nullified to be followed by a re-trial before a judge and jury.
Milnes said he was "hopeful" of a successful outcome.
"After my experience so far I haven't much confidence in the legal system but my solicitor is upbeat and I am fairly hopeful. We'll see what happens," he said.
Granting bail pending appeal, the Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said: "It must be made clear that this does not in any way represent a forecast of the outcome of the application for leave to appeal."
He said the 15-year-old boy had suffered a depressed compound fracture of the skull and a doctor who examined him had concluded that the injury was consistent with a blow from a hammer.
Milnes has denied using a hammer in the incident in October 2002 and claimed he was only protecting his property and his family.
But Sir Brian said a probation officer's pre-sentence report indicated that he had used a hammer.
However, the judges accepted the submission by defence QC Eilis McDermott that it was an exceptional case and bail should be granted as Milnes would have served about half his sentence by the time an appeal was heard.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said he had "listened carefully" to what Sinn Fein MLA Michael Ferguson and the Milnes family had to say yesterday.
"He found it very useful to listen to what they had to say, and to know the extent of public concern in Northern Ireland."
Lord Goldsmith stressed that he has "considerable sympathy" with victims of crime, but said that individuals must not take the law into their own hands.
