Scandal of murderer free to attack again

THE terror of Linda McDonald as she cowered before her attacker is barely imaginable.

Lord Arthurson told her assailant – convicted killer Robbie McIntosh – that his violent assault had been ‘murderous’.

He remained ‘impervious’ to his victim’s cries for mercy after he bludgeoned her face and body with a dumbbell.

The thug was jailed for life for murder in 2002 after he ‘butchered’ another dogwalker, Anne Nicoll, when he was 15.

The latest incident, which had chilling parallels, came after McIntosh was freed on home leave from his original sentence.

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday expressed sympathy for Mrs McDonald and her family, but defended the practice of letting prisoners go home for short periods.

Last year we revealed that prisoners had enjoyed nearly 60,000 days of home leave during the previous three years.

In almost 130 cases, there were breaches of licence conditions that included prisoners reoffending.

Mrs McDonald’s husband Matthew spoke for many when he said that he could not believe prison bosses ‘deemed that this sick individual, who attempted to murder my wife, be allowed to be in the public domain’. The family’s hope that McIntosh spends the rest of his life in jail is entirely understandable, but ultimately that decision is in the hands of parole chiefs.

The Scottish Prison Service has completed a ‘critical incident review’ of the case, which it cannot yet publish – for data protection reasons. It argues that home leave is necessary to test the suitability of inmates for their eventual release.

But the notion that dangerous criminals such as McIntosh should be afforded such a perk is repugnant. Miss Sturgeon’s sympathy for the McDonald family is no doubt welcome after the ‘emotional rollercoaster’ they say they have endured.

But she should go further and order an urgent review of a system that prioritises the rights of criminals over public safety.