Family’s fury as killer who battered father to death is freed early
Devastating news delivered on anniversary of killing
THE family of a former policeman bludgeoned to death in his home have spoken of their horror after being told on the anniversary of his murder that his killer was eligible for release.
John Mackie was jailed for 18 years in 2007 after being found guilty of murdering Michael Mosey with his own baton in his Lanarkshire home.
His family yesterday demanded action for victims after being told Mackie had been approved for temporary release.
After revealing details of the case at First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson demanded reforms to put victims ‘at the heart of the justice system’.
She called for ‘Michelle’s law’ – named after murdered teenager Michelle Stewart – to give victims’ families a greater say on release decisions.
Mr Mosey’s daughter Rachel Carson said: ‘Life as we knew it changed forever when our dad was brutally murdered.
‘We were in shock when we received the letter from the Scottish Prison Service asking for our representations for the parole board earlier than expected.
‘The lack of humanity and empathy in the letter is truly heartless and this needs to change, especially when it arrived on the anniversary of our dad’s murder.’
In 2007, Mackie, then 33, was told he would serve at least 18 years before he would be eligible for parole but this was later reduced to 13 years on appeal.
Mrs Carson contacted the Scottish Prison Service in June after hearing Mackie was being considered for release. SPS senior legal services manager Jim O’Neill wrote back to tell her he ‘has not been temporarily released and has not been considered for such release’.
But Mrs Carson received another letter six weeks later informing her Mackie had been ‘approved for first grant of temporary release’, and inviting her to make any representations.
At Holyrood yesterday, Miss Davidson said the family have been ‘left traumatised and feel that the system let them down’.
She also cited the case of 17year-old Michelle Stewart, who was stabbed to death by her boyfriend John Wilson in 2008 in Drongan, Ayrshire. Wilson later admitted to the killing and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years. But Michelle’s family has now been told he is to get out on temporary release.
Miss Davidson said: ‘The Stewarts, the Carsons and families like them are not asking for the world; they just ask to be heard when the killers of their loved ones are released. They feel that criminals have more rights than victims, and they want the law to be changed so that victims are put at the heart of the justice system.
‘When will the Government do right by them, end the warm words without concrete action and adopt Michelle’s law in full?’
Miss Sturgeon described the Mosey case as ‘unacceptable’ but failed to commit to the Tories’ key demands, such as taking the safety and welfare of victims and their families into account when parole and early release are considered, and allowing victims to make formal representations in person ahead of parole or early release decisions.
The First Minister unveiled a ‘package of reforms’ on Tuesday which she said would ‘better protect victims in the justice system’.
But Michelle’s father, Kenny Stewart, said: ‘This falls far short of what we demanded. If Nicola Sturgeon wants to introduce things to protect victims, she should give victims a say on when prisoners get released. We deserve more input.’
THE Nationalists fairly howl when they are accused of operating a soft-touch justice system. The First Minister has gone as far as to point to Scotland’s prison population as proof the claim is unfounded.
But at Holyrood yesterday, the stark reality that criminals, and not victims, are forever at the centre of SNP policy was only too clear.
John Mackie was sentenced to 18 years in jail after being found guilty of bludgeoning a former police officer to death. No one will be surprised he was a repeat offender on an escalating pattern of behaviour that eventually led to brutal murder.
The crime was committed in 2007 and the family of victim Michael Mosey and the general public should have expected Mackie to be behind bars for a very long time yet. Instead, incredibly, the killer has been approved for early release.
A one-off, a glitch in the system? Hardly. Holyrood was also told of John Wilson who killed his 17-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Stewart. He admitted his guilt in 2009 yet is already under consideration for release.
The system is letting down victims and their families while bending over backwards to accommodate thugs and killers.
Enough is enough. Tory demands for the full implementation of Michelle’s Law to give victims and families greater say over parole decisions and to end the primacy of criminals is now unarguable.