Why was my Craig’s killer left at large?
THE devastated partner of a murdered father of three has demanded to know why ‘flaws’ in the justice system led to his death.
Craig McClelland was killed by a serial knife thug who had been ‘unlawfully at large’ for months after breaching home curfew.
James Wright, 25, had been freed early from prison on a ‘soft-touch’ home detention scheme, but police failed to arrest him for six months after he broke his conditions.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the murder of student Mr McClelland, 31, in Paisley last year.
Wright had 16 previous convictions including two for knife crimes, yet police failed to track him down. Stacey McClelland, the mother of the victim’s three young sons, branded the failure to catch Wright before the killing ‘negligent’. She insisted the murder could have been prevented if ‘procedures had been followed’.
Miss McClelland said: ‘We want to know why there’s a flaw in the justice system that James Wright slipped through.
‘Six months is an incredible amount of time not to detain a man who should be considered high risk to the public.
‘We want to know why this was allowed to happen, to find out who is responsible.
Miss McClelland, 27, of Paisley, told the Scottish Sun: ‘This murder could have been prevented. Craig should be at home with his family but instead he will never come home because the law failed to protect an innocent man who had everything to live for.
‘The law is supposed to act like a shield and protect the innocent. In this instance, it has failed. Craig has lost his life for no reason.’ Wright was recalled to prison after an attempt was made to tamper with his electronic tag on February 23 last year. Police say they kept searching for him.
But on July 23 last year, he stabbed Mr McClelland in a random street attack, for which he has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.
The Justice Secretary has ordered police and prison watchdogs to investigate the ‘appalling’ case. He said: ‘It’s important we ensure answers are provided to how this has been handled.’
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is calling for victims of crime to be allowed to attend parole board hearings related to their case.
She said: We need to rebalance the justice system so it starts to respect the needs and wishes of victims more. With every new highprofile case, like the killing of Craig McClelland, people have a little less faith in our justice system.’