Sister of dead man blasts sentence
Guilty of culpable homicide
The sister of a Cambuslang man killed by his ex-wife’s new boyfriend this week described the Scottish justice system as “a joke”.
Catherine Paradine spoke out after learning that Ralph Goldie, the thug who killed her brother Jeremy Paradine, had his murder conviction quashed.
Goldie, 41, had originally been found guilty of murder and Catherine attended the court trial last December where the thug was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in jail.
However, a retrial was granted earlier this year and Goldie instead pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, which was accepted at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, November 16.
Catherine, who lives in London, said: “The justice system is a joke. They say that the Scottish courts are supposed to be tougher than down south but I don’t think that’s true.
“I don’t know how Ralph Goldie has managed to wangle this based on the evidence brought to court.
“There’s a saying about getting away with murder - and he has.”
The 42-year-old was in court for three days of the trial and had to listen to painful, horrifying details about her brother Jeremy’s death.
Goldie shoved Jeremy down a flight of stairs in a Cambuslang flat before jumping and stamping on him.
The 45-year-old victim had earlier allowed Goldie and his ex Maryanne Paradine to stay at his flat in Cambuslang.
This was despite the killer and Maryanne dating by that time.
Goldie went on to repay Jeremy’s kindness by fatally attacking him at friend Martin McQueenie’s home in January 2017.
The killer had always denied murder, but was found guilty at the initial trial.
He is due to be sentenced on the reduced charge of culpable homicide in the New Year.
Catherine said: “He’s now admitting his guilt. He should have done that at the beginning.
“He was originally sentenced to 14 years and now he could be out in six or seven years.
“You seem to get less time if you admit it than if you pretend you didn’t do it.”
Goldie’s lawyers launched his appeal soon after the conviction.
In August this year, Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian ruled there had been a “miscarriage of justice”.
This was due to the jury’s “self contradictory and inconsistent” verdict.
Prosecutors then moved for a retrial before Goldie offered to plead guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.