Convicted Loyalist killer, Michael Stone, has said his war is over, and has called for an end to the North's troubles. Speaking at a news conference just hours after being released from the Maze Prison Stone said he wanted to do all he could to make a constructive contribution to the Good Friday Agreement. He was freed this morning under the early release provisions of the Agreement.
The 44-year-old was greeted by around 50 supporters when he emerged from the Maze. A spokesman for an Ulster Defence Association prisoners' group said that Michael Stone along with the rest of the Loyalist prisoners and ex-prisoners continue to support the peace process. While on special temporary parole from the Maze, Mr Stone provoked controversy when he was the recipient of a standing ovation at an Ulster Democratic Party rally in support of the Agreement.
Michael Stone was given six life sentences for murder in 1989. He shot and killed three mourners during a gun and grenade attack in Milltown cemetery on March 16 1988, as thousands attended the funerals of three IRA members who had themselves been shot dead by British SAS forces in Gibraltar. He was also convicted of the murders of three other Catholics: milkman Paddy Brady in Belfast, joiner Kevin McPolin in Lisburn and breadman Dermot Hackett near Omagh. Speaking at Michael Stone's trial, the presiding judge recommended Stone serve a minimum of 30 years.
He is one of dozens of paramilitary prisoners being released this week, among them Brighton bomber Patrick Magee and those convicted of the murder of Stephen Restorick the last soldier to die in the North.
