A 29-year-old Co Armagh man has been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison for murdering his infant son by inflicting "catastrophic" brain injuries.
Lewis Oliver Rowland was just 13 weeks old when he was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital in November 2015.
He died three years later, and it was the prosecution's case that the brain injuries were a "significant cause of his death".
Last October, a jury found his father, Craig Rowland of Millington Park in Portadown, guilty of his murder.
Sentencing him at Belfast Crown Court today, Mr Justice O'Hara said he had serious concerns about his continued failure to accept responsibility for what happened and his absence of any empathy.
The judge sentenced him to a minimum 20-year prison term before he can be considered for parole.
The trial was told the child had been taken to hospital in Craigavon by his father and mother, Laura Graham, and transferred to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital with a brain bleed later that day.
The injury left Lewis permanently and severely disabled.
Examinations also revealed that he had suffered a spinal injury, had a rib fracture and multiple bruises on his neck, head and chest.
Both parents had pleaded guilty to child cruelty for not immediately bringing their son to hospital when they knew he was seriously injured.
The injuries resulted in their child being unable walk or talk and having to be fed through a nasal tube.
The infant was put into care with foster parents.
He died in the arms of his foster mother in October 2018 from complications arising from surgery.
The public prosecution service maintained that the "catastrophic" brain injuries were a significant contributor.
A number of medical experts agreed, saying the brain injury was likely caused by a "forceful shaking episode".
One doctor described the injury as "one of the most severe" he had seen during his ten years of practice and like one suffered during a road traffic collision or a fall from an "enormous height".
In his sentencing remarks the judge said both parents had declined an offer to stay in hospital with their son on the day he was admitted seriously ill, and later declined an offer to be with him in his final moments when it was clear he was dying.
The child's mother Laura Graham, whom the court was told has a low level of intelligence and a mild learning disability, was sentenced to three years on probation and 100 hours community service.
The judge said she had a low level of culpability as she had been asleep when Craig Rowland had violently shaken their young son.
