The McIlwaines were happy to receive a letter of appeal to British Attorney General Patricia Scotland following the Burcombe sentencing from Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, MP/MLA, and are grateful for his continuing support for their case.  The following is the full text of the 10 July 2008 letter:

Patricia Scotland, QC
British Attorney General
20 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0NF

10th July 08

Patricia a chara

I wish to raise grave concerns about the conduct of the prosecution against Mark Burcombe, convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 2  years.

Burcombe had been originally arrested and charged with the murder of David McIlwaine and Andrew Robb, who were killed on 19th February 2000. All records before the courts on this crime verify that it was a barbaric act. A date was set for trial against Burcombe and his co-accused, Steven Revels (alias Steven Brown). This indicated that the Public Prosecution Service had concluded the case met the evidential test for proceeding with the murder charges against both accused.

The following is the text of Paul McIlwaine’s Victim Impact Statement in its entirety.  The statement was not read in court at Burcombe’s sentencing because it had been amended without permission after it was handed in to the court.

This is my victim’s impact statement for the judge when sentencing Mark Burcombe.

It’s hard to find the words to express my disgust in the way we have been treated and the lack of respect in the years leading up to this.

Mark Burcombe was questioned about the murder of these two young men in 2000 and lied then about his part in these brutal and sadistic crimes, saying that he had nothing to do with them, despite traveling with two of the killers the following day.

In early 2000 I met him when he was coming out of UVF headquarters in Portadown with two other men and he didn’t seem at all in fear or under duress—in fact he was laughing.

Check out the new pictures from the Relatives for Justice delegation to the United States last year, just added to our photo gallery.

The following is an excerpt from the 11 July 2008 Irish news article by Barry McCaffrey.  Please click on the link to read the article in its entirety.

Paul McIlwaine has spent the past eight years fighting to bring his son’s killers to justice.

In February 2000 David McIlwaine (18) and his friend Andrew Robb (19) were lured to a lonely country road near Tandragee in Co Armagh and brutally stabbed to death.

Almost immediately speculation emerged that at least some of those involved were police agents.

Last month the McIlwaine and Robb families were outraged when it emerged that one of the main suspects had murder charges against him withdrawn in exchange for agreeing to give evidence against his co-accused.

The Relatives for Justice Remembering Quilt will be on display at the Boston Public Library in the United States throughout the month of July. The McIlwaine family has created a square in memory of David; so far thousands of people representing 430 families who have lost loved ones have participated in the project.

If you are in Boston, be sure to stop by to support the McIlwaines and the many victims and families represented by the quilt.  A photo of David’s square will be posted on the site shortly.

The following press release from Relatives for Justice provides more information about the project: