Lawyers for three men found guilty of the sectarian murder of a Catholic schoolboy in Ballymena have set out the basis for planned appeals against their convictions.
Representatives of Christopher Francis Kerr, Jeff Colin Lewis and Aaron Cavana Wallace secured permission to have witness statements and a bad character ruling transcribed as part of their challenge.
All three were given life sentences for murdering Michael McIlveen, a 15-year-old beaten to death in the Co Antrim town in May 2006.
Wallace, 21, formerly of Moat Road; Kerr, 23, from Carnduff Drive; and Lewis, 20, of Rossdale - all in Ballymena - were given minimum terms ranging from 10 to 13 years.
A fourth man from the town, Mervyn Wilson Moon, 21, admitted the killing at the start of the trial.
Kerr received the highest minimum tariff after he was assessed as showing no remorse for his actions and having lied consistently throughout the proceedings.
The Court of Appeal heard on Friday that he told police he had the murder weapon, a baseball bat, but had not used it.
Setting out his request for transcripts from a series of interviews and witness statements, his barrister, Laurence McCrudden QC, said Kerr had the bat because he was in fear of "associates" of the victim.
Mr McCrudden referred to incidents of sectarian conflict in the town in the months leading up to the murder.
"Young nationalist youths tended to congregate, he instructed us, and it is referred to in the police interviews, that at Easter, 23 days before the murder, he (Kerr) was confronted by a man brandishing a samurai sword."
Stephen Law, representing Wallace, focused submissions on a bad character ruling during the trial based on evidence from the Bebo social networking site.
Seeking a transcript of that determination, Mr Law said: "I submit that it would assist the court in determination of the matter. We consider that the evidence was so disproportionately prejudicial."
Francis Rafferty, for Lewis, claimed that accounts given by others at the scene of the assault and in a nearby garden "challenged and contradicted" the version of events from the main prosecution witness.
He also contended that the State Pathologist's evidence was also at odds with it.
Following their submissions Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, sitting with Lord Justices Higgins and Girvan, directed that transcripts of a number of pieces of evidence and the bad character ruling should be prepared.
The appeal is expected to be heard later this year.
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