Jailed wife killer James Kilroy granted legal aid to appeal murder conviction
by Eoin Reynolds · Irish MirrorJames Kilroy, who was jailed for life last summer after a jury rejected his claim that he was insane when he beat, stabbed and strangled his wife to death, has been granted legal aid to appeal his conviction.
Kilroy was unanimously convicted of murdering Valerie French Kilroy at their home in Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co Mayo, between June 13th and June 14th, 2019 following three Central Criminal Court trials.
The two previous trials collapsed due to unforeseen difficulties that arose during the course of the evidence.
READ MORE: Brother of Valerie French says she was 'savagely slaughtered' by husband who showed no remorse
Kilroy’s application for legal aid was one of twelve before the Court of Appeal this morning. Mr Justice John Edwards granted legal aid in all but one of the cases. The judge granted legal aid for two counsel in Kilroy’s conviction appeal.
During the 51-year-old’s third and final trial, psychiatrists had disagreed as to whether cannabis-induced psychosis is a mental disorder that can be used as a defence under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act, despite recent murder trials in which such a defence was successfully employed.
After the jury’s verdict was delivered, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, who presided in the trial, said he believes Professor Harry Kennedy’s interpretation that cannabis-induced psychosis is not an available defence was “entirely in line with what I perceive as the policy of the legislation.”
The jury’s verdict, he said, was “the correct result on the evidence in the case... Self-induced scenarios are not defences.”
The eight women and four men at the Central Criminal Court took about two hours to reject Kilroy’s defence that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity due to a cannabis-induced psychosis or a form of acute and transient psychotic disorder.
Before she was murdered, Ms Kilroy French had been enjoying a night out with friends. When she arrived home, Kilroy set upon her with a knife and beat and strangled her. There was evidence that he used a ligature and that she struggled during the unprovoked attack.
Kilroy was found some hours later wandering naked in a nearby field. He told gardaí and psychiatrists of various delusional beliefs including that his wife was working with Donald Trump’s bodyguards to capture, torture and kill him.
There was also evidence that Kilroy was a regular user of cannabis and had a previous psychotic episode related to drug use in 2001.
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