Three imprisoned members of an IRA splinter group were charged Monday with killing a Protestant militant inside Northern Ireland’s maximum-security prison. Billy Wright, 37, the most brutal Protestant militant in the British-ruled province, was killed Saturday inside Maze Prison. Dubbed “King Rat,” he was believed responsible for the killing of more than a dozen Catholics. The slaying has the potential to unravel the paramilitary cease-fires that have given Northern Ireland hope for peace. A dozen police ringed the Lisburn Magistrates Court southwest of Belfast as the charges were read to the three men, who were handcuffed together and to police guards. Christopher McWilliams, 35, John Kennaway, 35, and John Glennon, 32, of the Irish National Liberation Army also were charged with possessing firearms and ammunition.
