A YOUNG GAA star jailed for shooting dead his father is taking legal action over alleged failures to provide medical treatment for his delusional disorder.
Lawyers for Sean Hackett claim prison authorities have not complied with a court recommendation that he should receive appropriate psychotherapy.
The 21-year-old 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.
Sean, who previously captained the Tyrone minor GAA team, admitted carrying out the shooting but denied murder.
At his trial it was set out how he had suffered depression in the preceding months.
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 had been harbouring a secret need to kill either of his parents.
According to Dr Minne he is suffering 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 claim nothing has been done to implement those recommendations.
At the High Court yesterday barrister Desmond Fahy, representing the Hackett family, was set to open his application for leave to seek a judicial review of the Department of Justice's alleged failures.
However, the case was adjourned amid arguments that the relevant health trust should become involved.
Mr Justice Maguire is now expected to hear further submissions next month.
