Governor open to meeting family of man killed by serial absconder

The governor of HMP Magilligan is open to meeting the family of a man whose killer recently spent almost a year at large after absconding from the County Londonderry prison.

James Meehan was given a minimum 14-year life sentence in 2009 for the murder of father-of-four Jim McFadden in the Shantallow area of Londonderry in 2007.

Earlier this week he was handed a 12-month sentence for going on the run after failing to return from day release on 9 December 2024.

"If the McFadden family want to get in touch with me, I'm quite happy to meet with them ," said Magilligan Prison Governor Gary Milling.

"I think firstly I should say to the family of the victim, I genuinely appreciate how difficult this has been for you," said Milling.

"It's not a pleasant experience, and any further damage and trauma that is done to victims we very much regret."

When Meehan failed to comply with his pre-release testing conditions by not returning to meet prison officials at the appointed time and place, it was the third time he had absconded from police custody.

After being captured on CCTV around Belfast city centre, Meehan then crossed the border into the Republic of Ireland.

Extradition proceedings were commenced, beginning a legal process that eventually resulted in the 56-year-old being given a 12-month sentence last week.

Speaking with BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme on Thursday, Milling was asked whether he had met to apologise to the McFadden family.

"I have not met with that family, no," he replied.

Turning to the question of whether or not the day release system that enabled Meehan to escape is flawed, Milling said "the pre-release testing works".

He then acknowledged that in the case of Meehan "it hasn't worked", but qualified that "these are a very, very small percentage of individuals who fail to comply with the conditions placed upon them.

"They are the exception to what is generally a very proven and successful rule."

On Thursday Justice Minister Naomi Long welcomed a landmark inspection report which described Magilligan as one of the highest-performing prison establishments in the United Kingdom.

As well as praising the facility for its strong staff-prisoner relationships and innovative rehabilitation programmes, the report noted significant challenges.

Drug abuse, including the misuse of prescription medication, was described as "the most severe risk to safety and stability" among inmates.

The report also stated that many of the prison buildings were "old, worn and in need of replacement".

Milling said 90% of prisoners arrive in Magilligan with alcohol or illicit drug use, framing the issues as one "we inherit from society".

He said there has been a concerted effort to align internal procedures with recommendations in the report to tackle the issues of in-prison drug abuse.

"This has already produced significant results," he added.