KNOCKOUT BLOW FOR APPEAL HOPE BOXER
FREEDOM BID FAMILY WANT ANSWERS Harrison’s prison torment
FORMER world boxing champ Scott Harrison has suffered a new blow in his bid for release from Shotts Prison.
Harrison, 39, thought an appeal against his sentence in a Spanish court was due to be heard in Edinburgh today.
But it won’t be going ahead – leaving him stuck in jail serving his four-year jail term for assault on three men at a Spanish brothel.
Harrison, 39, had instructed his legal team to appeal over claims he was effectively sentenced twice in Spain for the same offence.
Now, Harrison’s family are trying to find out why the freedom bid has failed.
The boxer was extradited to Spain in 2015 to face a four-year prison sentence for the assault of three men in 2007. But last year he was allowed to return to Scotland to serve the rest of his sentence here.
Scott’s dad, Peter, 67, said: “He had been told the appeal would be heard this Monday. Now, it seems it is not even going to be heard.
“We’re trying to get some answers. If the appeal was not going to be heard, then we would have expected Scott would have been informed.”
His partner Stacey, 35, said: “We believe Scott was sentenced twice in Spain for the same offence.
“It seems Scott is being thwarted at every turn. He has tried to do his best in jail, and been described as a model prisoner, but anything and everything is going against him.”
Harrison claims he was originally given a six-month sentence for the assaults. This, he claims, was dealt with on the same indictment when he was given an earlier two-year term for a car-jacking incident in Malaga in 2006.
He was later given a four-year jail term for the attack. But Harrison claims he was effectively sentenced twice for the same offence.
He felt this was sufficient grounds for him to lodge a freedom bid through the Scottish justice system.
Last month, the Record reported claims that guards at Shotts were going out of their way to put Harrison on report to deny him parole.
One is said to have told him they would personally ensure he is “too old to box again” when he is released.
Harrison has struggled to battle demons, including depression and alcohol since he first burst on the scene, leading to spells in rehab.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “We don’t comment on individual prisoners. We endeavour to treat everybody appropriately and fairly.”
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