Seven Ballymena men convicted in connection with the killing of a schoolboy in the County Antrim town are due to be sentenced later.
Four Ballymena men jailed for life over the sectarian murder of a teenager were high on a lethal cocktail of drink and drugs, a judge has said.
Three of the men were convicted of Michael McIlveen's murder in February. Another man admitted murdering the schoolboy at the start of the trial.
Michael McIlveen, 15, was beaten to death in the town in May 2006.
Fifteen-year-old Michael McIlveen was beaten to death in Ballymena in May 2006.
Aaron Cavana Wallace, 20, of Moat Road, Christopher Francis Kerr, 22, of Carnduff Drive and Jeff Colin Lewis, 19, Rossdale, were convicted of murder.
The sentencing has already been adjourned once before.
Mervyn Wilson Moon, 20, of Douglas Terrace, admitted the murder at the start of the trial in September 2008.
Judge Mr Justice Seamus Tracey said the adjournment was due to "the huge volume of material" put before him.
The men were given minimum tariffs of between 10 and 13 years.
Aaron Cavana Wallace, 20, of Moat Road, Christopher Francis Kerr, 22, of Carnduff Drive and Jeff Colin Lewis, 19, Rossdale, were convicted of his murder.
The judge at Antrim Crown Court said: "This lethal cocktail of drugs, drink, youth and sectarianism provided the context in which this murder occurred."
Mervyn Wilson Moon, 20, of Douglas Terrace, admitted murdering the schoolboy at the start of the trial in September 2008.
Lawyers have accepted that the starting point for any minimum term for those convicted of the murder, lies in the higher bracket of between 15 and 16 years in prison.
Remorse
However, they have argued this figure should be reduced given the ages, remorse and contrition of the accused.
Christopher Andrew McLeister, 18, of Knockeen Crescent, was convicted of the manslaughter of the Catholic teenager, who was nicknamed Micky Bo.
Paul Edward David Henson, 18, of Condiere Avenue, was found guilty of affray and criminal damage.
