A man convicted of murdering his wife Valerie French has received legal aid to appeal his conviction.

Two previous trials collapsed due to unforeseen difficulties during testimony.

Kilroy’s legal aid application was one of 12 filed in the Court of Appeal on Friday morning. Judge John Edwards granted legal aid in all but one case. A judge has granted legal aid to two lawyers in an appeal of Kilroy’s conviction.

During the third and final trial of a 51-year-old man, psychiatrists were divided over whether cannabis-induced psychosis was a mental disorder that could be used as a defense under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act, despite recent murder trials in which this defense has been successfully applied.

Following the jury’s verdict, Judge Tony Hunt, who presided over the trial, said he believed Professor Harry Kennedy’s interpretation that cannabis-induced psychosis was not an available defense was “entirely consistent with what I consider the policy of the law.” ”

The jury’s verdict, he said, was “the correct result based on the evidence in the case… Spontaneous scenarios are not a defense.”

Eight women and four men at the Central Criminal Court spent about two hours rejecting Kilroy’s arguments that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity caused by cannabis-induced psychosis, or a form of acute and transient psychotic disorder.

Before she was killed, Ms Kilroy French was enjoying a night out with friends. When she arrived home, Kilroy attacked her with a knife, beat her and strangled her. There was evidence that he used a ligature and that she struggled during the unprovoked attack.

Hours later, Kilroy was found wandering naked in a nearby field. He told police and psychiatrists various delusional beliefs, including that his wife was working with Donald Trump’s bodyguards to capture, torture and kill him.

There was also evidence that Kilroy was a regular cannabis user and had already had a drug-related psychotic episode in 2001.