The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Law killer victim says ‘life should mean life’
Murderer of six-year-old girl on Isle of Bute ‘should never be let out’
The Dundee woman who survived a savage attack by Law killer Robbie McIntosh said the murderer of six-yearold Alesha MacPhail should never be freed.
Aaron Campbell, 17, was originally given a life sentence with a minimum of 27 years for murdering Alesha on the Isle of Bute but this was cut to 24 years on appeal.
It means it will be decades before Campbell may be released, although the victim of another teenage killer said life should mean life in extreme cases.
McIntosh had been jailed for a minimum of 15 years after killing civil servant Anne Nicoll on Dundee Law in 2002.
The 33-year old attacked Linda McDonald in Templeton Woods while he was on home leave and was placed on a lifelong restriction of liberty order for attempted murder.
She said: “It’s common sense we don’t let out evil killers. They should never be let out to be tested on the public.
“Public safety should always come first. They took away a life in the most horrendous way and so they should lose their human rights.”
Mrs McDonald added: “I think victims and families are forgotten about and it becomes all about these killers’ rights and their so-called rehabilitation.
“When are the people in power going realise these critical few evil killers, no matter their age, cannot be rehabilitated.”
Mrs McDonald was speaking after Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr cited McIntosh and Campbell as criminals who should never be released.
Speaking on Radio Scotland he said: “There is the possibility that this animal will come out at some point in the future. He will get another chance. He will be walking the streets when he is 40 years old, he will have half his life left at that point.
“Alesha Macphail will never see her seventh birthday.
“Let’s not forget, just by way of example, Robbie McIntosh, the so-called Dundee Law killer. He was 15 when he was jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years in 2002. He came out on parole in 2017 and attempted to murder another innocent woman.
“Should we really be putting the public at this level of risk? I don’t think so.”
Mr Kerr said MSPs from all parties should back his Whole Life Sentences Bill, which would give the courts the power to jail people without the possibility of parole.
Courts in England have the power to impose whole life sentences but these can only be handed down to offenders over the age of 21.
Alesha MacPhail’s mother Georgina Lochrane also criticised the decision to reduce Campbell’s sentence.
She said: “He’s a danger to children and he’s always going to be.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our sympathies lie with the family of Alesha MacPhail for the horrific experience of losing Alesha.
“It is important to note that Scottish courts have powers to impose a punishment part of a life sentence that can extend beyond the rest of a person’s life.
“We fully support Scotland’s independent courts having powers to ensure those who commit the worst crimes can face appropriate consequences for their actions”