Knife attacker went on run from prison while on home leave

A THUG who tried to murder a man in an unprovoked knife attack went on the run after being granted home leave from prison.

Ryan Stewart, 34, spent several days at large after prison chiefs granted him a week-long leave from Castle Huntly prison, near Dundee.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Stewart – who was serving eightand-a-half years for attempted murder – had been let-out on several occasions.

The court was told he had five previous home leaves, despite being less than halfway through his sentence – and not having a home.

Last night Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘The SNP has presided over a soft-touch justice system for too long, and it’s leading to incidents like this, putting the public at risk.’

Yesterday fiscal depute Marie Irvine said Stewart has 22 previous convictions and was serving a High

Court sentence of eight years and six months.

He left Castle Huntly on February 26 under a seven-day temporary release and was due to return on March 4, but failed to turn up.

Stewart was eventually found in Perth on March 7.

Solicitor John McLaughlin, defending, said Stewart had been beaten-up behind bars after failing to bring drugs back to the jail after his fifth home leave.

He thought that if he went on the run he would be moved.

‘He was between a rock and a hard place and didn’t know what to do. With hindsight he should have placed his trust in the system,’ the lawyer said.

Adding six months to his sentence, Sheriff Lorna Drummond said: ‘You fundamentally breached the trust put in you.’