McKinley was released on licence in 1989 after serving 14 years, and he is now programme manager for East Belfast Alternatives, working to prevent young people from entering the justice system and to reduce punishment beatings. He believes the reason for his involvement with the Ulster Volunteer Force was political "brainwashing".
"During the Troubles, most of the young men in socially deprived areas were used as cannon fodder by unscrupulous politicians, and we genuinely believed that what we were doing was right," he says. As well as repaying his debt to society, McKinley chose to continue working for the community after a change of heart while in prison.
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