Killer driver walks free because jail ‘will harm her family life’
Lawyer says prison would breach human rights laws
A MOTHER of two who killed a pensioner after swerving on to the wrong side of the road was spared jail yesterday – because it would ‘interfere’ with her family life.
Anna-Marie Strachan, 29, was found guilty of causing the death of James Thomson, 73, by dangerous driving.
But at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, Judge Lady Stacey sentenced her to 300 hours of unpaid work and banned her from driving for eight years.
The Scottish Daily Mail revealed last week how more than half of killer drivers were spared jail last year in favour of community service, fines or a verbal warning.
Defence counsel Gavin Anderson argued that sending Strachan to prison would be a breach of Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.
He told the court her ten-yearold dyslexic daughter needed her mother and that the family risked losing their home should she end up behind bars.
As Strachan wept in the dock, Lady Stacey said: ‘This is a very difficult case and I have thought long and hard about it.
‘It is not necessary to imprison you. You are the mother of two young children aged five and ten and you are their main carer.
‘Your husband can’t work the hours he works now and look after two young children and I am told there are no other family members who can look after the children.’
The judge said Strachan, who was injured in the crash, was not in good health and would require a cell to be specially adapted.
She added: ‘Your daughter is concerned about her homework and while her teachers feel she is coping quite well, they have noticed some change in her behaviour.
‘Your son is five and due to start school this year. It is important he has the support of both parents.’
Earlier, Strachan’s lawyer said: ‘A prison sentence will interfere with the private and family life not only of Mrs Strachan, but her husband and children. Incarceration is not necessary under Article Eight. A custodial sentence would impact on her children.
‘The girl has regressed in her emotional presentation. She has been diagnosed as dyslexic and her father is also dyslexic and so cannot help her.
‘The boy has been tearful. A number of people, including close family members, paint a picture of someone whose life revolves around her family. She is a caring and devoted mother. A custodial sentence will also impact on her husband’s employment. The family have a substantial and longterm mortgage on the family home. If she were in prison their house may be at risk.
‘Her children require full-time care. Jail would have an effect on her children, who are the innocent victims in this case.’
First offender Strachan, from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, offered a ‘heartfelt apology’ to the Thomson family through her lawyer.
Mr Anderson added: ‘She thinks about the collision every day and expects to think about it every day going forward.’
The crash happened on the A90 near Rathen, Aberdeenshire, on July 31, 2014. Mr Thomson’s wife Frances, 71, and two children in
‘Home would be at risk’ ‘Children are innocent victims’
Strachan’s car were all injured, as was Strachan, who now walks with a stick. A motorist travelling behind Strachan’s Peugeot 308 road described the crash as an ‘explosion of plastic’.
Strachan was accused of causing the collision after taking prescription drugs and holding a phone, but both allegations were later deleted from the charge.
The court was told there was no record of Strachan having made or received a call or text when the crash happened, and the medication she took had no effect on the incident.
She told a paramedic who arrived at the scene that she was taking pain relief for chronic back pain.
Mr Anderson said: ‘The accused will carry with her for the rest of her life the heavy burden that she has taken the life of another.’
Strachan refused to comment as she left court.