Devoted husband jailed for killing wife with pillow in ‘final act of love’

● Daughter says she fully supported her father’s choice in moving account

Mr Jackson added: “He said it was a ‘final act of love’. That is exactly what happened.”

Lord Arthurson said he took into account what Mr Jackson said and the evidence placed before the court in deciding the sentence.

He said: “There are powerful mitigatory factors in your favour. However, given the nature of the charge to which you have been convicted of, a custodial sentence is inevitable.

“It is in the public interest that I discharge my duties and the sentence of this court will be three years and four months.”

Lord Arthurson said the sentence had been discounted from a five-year term.

Mr Gordon went to trial at the High Court in Glasgow last month on a charge of murder.

The charge was withdrawn after jurors heard evidence from Mr Gordon’s daughter Gail Whyte.

She described her mother’s suffering and her father’s devotion to the woman he spent the greatest part of his life with.

Without her “moving account”, Mr Gordon would still be in the dock accused of murder, the court heard.

Mrs Whyte, 46, described her mother’s longstanding illness and fear of hospitals, saying she fully supported her father’s actions.

She said her dad gave up work in 2015 to look after her mother, who was “convinced” she had lung cancer, but did not want to be diagnosed or treated.

Her mother had a history of suffering from anxiety and depression and a deep rooted fear of hospitals, Mrs Whyte said.

She added: “[My father] had nothing whatsoever to gain by doing that and absolutely everything to lose. They were together nearly 50 years.”

Mrs Whyte said she loved her father “beyond measure” and described seeing her mother hours before she died. Former Scotland, Rangers and Liverpool footballer Graeme Souness was back in Glasgow yesterday to sign copies of his new book Football: My Life, My Passion. The autobiography chronicles one of the most successful and colourful careers in British football but it also provides an intriguing assessment of the game over the past 50 years.