A MAN convicted of murdering prison officer Adrian Ismay has led a "fractured" life which left him vulnerable to exploitation by others, the Court of Appeal has heard.
Counsel for Christopher Robinson (51) claimed the minimum 22-year jail term he received for participating in the dissident republican under-car bomb attack in March 2016 should be reduced due to his own adverse personal circumstances.
Arthur Harvey QC said: "The culpability of an individual who is quite literally as damaged as this man cannot be compared to that of a committed individual who is ruthlessly pursuing an objective beyond even just the death of one man, and is doing so objectively, rationally and with determination".
Mr Ismay (52) suffered serious leg injuries when the bomb exploded under the van he was driving near his home at Hillsborough Drive in east Belfast.
The father-of-three died 11 days later.
Dissident grouping the New IRA claimed responsibility for carrying out the attack.
Robinson, from Aspen Walk in Dunmurry, knew Mr Ismay from volunteering together for St John Ambulance.
He denied involvement in the bombing, but at a non-jury trial in 2020 he was found guilty of murder and possessing explosives with intent to endanger life.
A circumstantial case against him involved CCTV footage of a Citroen C3 car - registered in a relative's name - used to transport the device.
Robinson's DNA was found on the edge of a poppy appeal sticker recovered from a bin at the vehicle owner's home.
The Remembrance Day emblem was said to have been put on the C3 windscreen in a cynical ploy to ensure the car would not appear out of place in east Belfast.
Following a previous failed challenge to his murder conviction, Robinson's legal team returned to the Court of Appeal in a bid to secure a reduced prison tariff.
Senior judges were told his life has been blighted by depression, alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder, hallucinations and repeated suicide attempts.
Based on a psychiatrist's assessment of his client, Mr Harvey argued: "It's not just simply that this man was vulnerable to the exploitation of others.
"The exploitation of others was possible because his whole life was fractured as a human being."
The court heard he had tried to help others through involvement with St John Ambulance, mountain rescue services and volunteering at the 2012 London Olympics.
Stressing Robinson will remain subject to life imprisonment, the barrister said the tariff only relates to when he may be considered for possible release.
David McDowell, prosecuting, countered that Robinson was held to have been integrally involved in the targeting, planning and carrying out of a terrorist operation which resulted in Mr Ismay's death.
"Were it not for him, Mr Ismay would not have been chosen," he said.
Mr McDowell said the case was so serious that any mitigation based on mental disorder does not reduce culpability.
Reserving judgment in the appeal, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan pledged: "We will give a ruling as soon as we can".
