Garda killer Stephen Silver is to appeal his conviction, we can reveal.
He has told prison officers he was deranged and out of his mind when he took Detective Garda Colm Horkan's gun and shot him eleven times and hadn't a clue what he was doing.
He claims he can remember little or nothing about the incident and can't understand why the jury didn't believe him.
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The 46-year-old former motorbike mechanic is due to be sentenced to the mandatory 40 years for capital murder next Wednesday, April 19 following the conviction over a month ago.
Silver is currently being detained in the special psychiatric unit of Mountjoy Prison with several other prisoners while he awaits sentencing. It is run under the auspices of the Central Mental Clinic.
He has a long history of medical illness. The killer is expected to be moved to Castlerea or the Midlands prison to serve his sentence.
A prison source said: "Silver can't believe he was convicted. He says he was out of his mind that day and doesn't remember much about the incident.
"He has made it clear since his conviction for capital murder that he will be appealing.
"He says he is sorry for what happened but is blaming his mental condition for shooting Garda Horkan and had no idea what he was doing.
"He thinks he should be in the hospital not prison and that the jury was very hard on him."
Both the Gardai and Garda Horkan's family were relieved at the conviction. The brutal killing in June 2020 in Castlerea, Co Roscommon shocked the nation.
Silver shot him eleven times and claimed he didn't know who he was and that the 49-year-old hero Garda was "a heavy down from Dublin" who was trying to kill him. He got hold of the Garda's gun after a physical struggle between them.
Silver has a history of bi-polar disorder. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty of murder. A jury in the first trial of the case had failed to reach a verdict before he was convicted on the retrial.
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