The mother of a three-month-old infant, slain by his father, has stated that the perpetrator, Ryan Leslie, should be incarcerated indefinitely.
Cameron, the son of Sheree Black, succumbed to cerebral oedema resulting from a head trauma done by Ryan Leslie at his residence in Newtownabbey in 2008.
She has lately been approached by parole officials as part of the standard pre-release procedure that occurs while a sentence is nearing completion. She does not believe that Ryan Leslie deserves to be released from prison.
She said: “I haven’t known my life to be any other way. I have always been the girl who’s baby was murdered.
“That is why I ran away from Belfast to Spain.
“I feel like it has had more of an impact in my life later on than it did earlier. I feel like I was numb.”
“I didn’t know how to express my emotions. I am grateful that I was the age that I was when it happened.
“The way that I feel now when I am 35 and dealing with it, I don’t know if it had happened when I was 35 if I would have lived to tell the story.
“It has made me who I am today. Everything that I do is for Cameron.
“When I wake up in the morning he is the first thing that comes to my mind and this is my life.”
Ryan Leslie denied involvement but a jury found him guilty in 2011. He was sentenced to a minimum of 17 months in jail.
Lord Stephens, the judge who imposed the sentence, said that Ryan Leslie’s refusal to give an explanation of what happened, or to express remorse, showed he was “immune to the suffering” of the baby’s mother.
He said: “What if any further period you spend in jail, will be for the parole commission to determine”.
The Parole Commissioner will go through a rigorous process to decide if it is safe for Leslie to be released.
Sheree said: “For me, it is a bit crazy because this tariff review isn’t going to be for another two years or so.
“However, I am having to start to relive this two years before he is even having to go through this whole thing.
“So, again I am suffering at the hands of this man continuously but in other ways now 16 years later.”
A Department of Justice spokesperson said: “The Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoners.
“On the wider issue of rehabilitation and resettlement back into the community, when a life prisoner is approaching the last three years of the minimum sentence given by the courts, a process will begin to consider their suitability for pre-release testing.
“Victims are an integral part of that, and the impact statement is to ensure their concerns are fully considered.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.