Prisoner attacked his cell mate over vegan lifestyle

Anger after eggs and milk thrown in bin as soon as it was delivered to the cell

A prisoner attacked his cell mate because he was fed up with his fundamentalist vegan lifestyle.

John Hutton punched and injured Duncan McLaren because he was frustrated by the effect his limited diet was having in the cell they shared inside Perth Prison.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that Hutton felt he had been lumbered with Mr McLaren who was extremely unpopular within the jail because of his hardcore veganism.

The court was told that Mr McLaren was so against dairy products that he would throw eggs and milk in the bin as soon as they were delivered to the cell.

Solicitor Mike Short, defending Hutton, said the situation became so tense between the pair that it flared into violence while his client was waiting to use the phone.

Hutton, 35, of Ann Street, Dundee, admitted attacking Mr McLaren in Perth Prison on March 14 last year by punching him on the face to his injury.

Fiscal depute John Malpass said: “The complainer was on the phone in the main hall. The accused was standing behind him and appeared to be waiting to use the phone.

“The complainer was on the phone for a while. A small argument ensued. The complainer turned and used one hand to push the accused away.

“The accused approached and punched him once in the face before being escorted away. He sustained a cut to his right eye and below his eyebrow. The incident was captured on CCTV.”

Mr Short told the court: “It is not quite as straightforward as that. The complainer was his cell mate. The victim was very unpopular in the jail because he was a vegan.

“Nobody wished to share a cell with him. He was very vocal about his belief that there should be no milk or dairy products in his cell. He got upset if there were eggs in the cell.

“If eggs or milk were delivered he would put them straight into a bin. After two weeks my client went to the prison staff to say Mr McLaren was driving him crazy. The prison staff understood because it was a common request by most of his cell mates, but they couldn’t move him on.”

Mr Short said his client had fallen out with his partner the previous evening and had stated his intention to speak to her again as soon as possible the next day.

He said Hutton felt that Mr McLaren had rushed ahead of him to use the phone and had been pulling faces at him as he was trying to get him to end the conversation.

Hutton felt he was being mocked in front of other inmates, so he lashed out and assaulted his cell mate.

Mr Short said his client – who was serving a sentence for assault at the time – realised it was not the appropriate way to react.

Sentence was deferred until June 6.