Jim Sheridan: 'Not one shred of evidence to say Bailey did it'
Oscar-nominated film director Jim Sheridan has said there is 'not one shred of evidence' to convict Ian Bailey of the murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Oscar nominated Sheridan said he believes Ian Bailey is 'probably innocent' of the murder of the French film-maker, who was bludgeoned to death outside her holiday home in Schull in West Cork in December 1996.
Sheridan, probably best known for the Oscar nominated movie My Left Foot, has released a new docudrama entitled Re-Creation, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York recently. Pic: REX/Shutterstock (442642m) SOPHIE TOSCAN DU PLANTIER SOPHIE TOSCAN DU PLANTIER RETROSPECTIVE
The drama promises to show new evidence in the unsolved case, which Jim Sheridan described as a 'double injustice'
Explaining what he meant, he said 'I feel Sophie's murderer has never been found and her death has never been avenged'.
'A man who probably was 100% innocent has been castigated through life, he lived a horrible life and died a horrible death and has a horrible name. I don't think he killed her and there's not a shred of evidence to say he did.' Jim Sheridan. Pic: JuanIan Bailey was convicted of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, by a court in Paris, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, a conviction Jim Sheridan described as a 'farce' but Ian Bailey did not serve any prison time as the French authorities were unable to extradite him from Ireland to France.
When he was asked about how the Toscan du Plantier family may feel about his new Docudrama, Sheridan said 'of course' he knew there was a risk of upsetting Sophie's family but added, 'You can't say because you're upset, that you can ruin another man's life.'
He continued that the family of Mr Bailey have also suffered over the years. Ian Bailey
'I'm sure Ian Bailey's sister was upset that there was nobody at his funeral and that he had to die that ignominious way,' he said. 'I'm sure she's upset.'
When asked about Mr Bailey's history of violence, Mr Sheridan described it as 'not good'
Alain Spilliaert, a lawyer for Ms Toscan du Plantier's family, also spoke to Newstalk Breakfast and said that while he has not seen the film yet, he does have some concerns,
He added, 'We feel that it is not relevant to show a fictional movie at this point in the criminal investigation.'
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