A MAN who knifed to death a small-time drug dealer can seek his freedom in less than five years.

Twenty eight-year-old Lee Scott Burke was jailed for life in 1999 after fatally stabbing middle-aged Michael Connolly out of fear that he or his nine-year-old son might identify him.

A judge at London’s Royal Courts of Justice this week ruled that, after time spent on remand is taken into account, Burke can ask the Parole Board to free him in late 2012.

Burke and his accomplice, John Concannon, 30, both lived on the Freehold estate and, after meeting by chance on the night of October 6 1999, formed a plan to raid Mr Connolly’s nearby flat and to rob him.

Concannon got hold of a knife and the pair tried to conceal their faces before manhandling Mr Connolly and demanding money and drugs.

As Burke threatened Mr Connolly with the knife, the victim's nine-year-old son unexpectedly came on the scene.

The pair then searched the flat without success and, after Concannon had walked out, Burke, who had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs, fatally stabbed Mr Connolly, who a judge described as ‘a middle-aged small time drug dealer.’

According to the judge at his trial, Burke knifed his victim because ‘he thought he had been recognised by the deceased and his child and wanted to reduce the risk of identification.’

Burke was jailed for life after pleading guilty to murder at Manchester Crown Court in May 2000.

He gave evidence against Concannon, who was also found guilty ‘on a joint enterprise basis.’

After reviewing Burke's case Mr Justice Treacy ruled he must serve a minimum jail ‘tariff’ of 13 years before he can apply for parole.

The judge said that, under tougher sentencing guidlines now in force, Burke would have received a very much longer minimum tariff were he being sentenced for the first time today.

But he said he was constrained to fix his minimum term on the basis of the more lenient guidelines which applied at the time of the murder.

He said that if Burke were being jailed for life today, the ‘starting point’ for setting his tariff would have been 30 years, before his guilty plea was taken into account.

Once Burke has served his minimum sentence, he will be freed if he can persuade the Parole Board he poses no serious public danger.

When released, he will remain on perpetual ‘life licence’, subject to prison recall if he puts a foot wrong ever again.

Mr Justice Treacy said Burke had a ‘persisent criminal record’ even before the killing, including possession of an offensive weapon and witness intimidation.  However, he had no previous convictions for violence or robbery.

In his favour Burke, who was only 20 at the time of the killing, had written to the trial judge shortly after he was given life to express his ‘genuine and convincing remorse’ and he had behaved well in custody.