A Dundee woman who stabbed a man to death during a drunken argument in a city flat has launched a legal bid to have her life sentence reduced.
Elizabeth Reid was ordered to serve a 13-year minimum jail term after being convicted of the murder of 50-year-old John Whyte.
The 58-year-old former carer has now instructed her legal team to appeal against the sentence handed down by a judge last month.
Police and paramedics, who had been called after reports of a disturbance, fought in vain to save Mr Whyte’s life after Reid stabbed him in the neck in a ground-floor flat on Provost Road last May.
However, he died at the scene as a main artery had been irreparably damaged. A trial heard Reid had placed the weapon back into a kitchen drawer after the fatal assault.
A High Court of Justiciary spokeswoman confirmed Reid had lodged an intimation of intention to appeal against her sentence. Reid was ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years behind bars at the High Court in Glasgow on April 26.
She had denied murdering Mr Whyte with a knife or similar instrument but was found guilty by majority at the end of the four-day trial before Lady Scott at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Lady Scott said it was clear Reid had a “very bad temper” and evidence heard at her trial showed her to be “in a rage” around the time of the killing.
The judge added: “This was a rapid and lethal attack for which there was no reason other than you lost your temper.”
Lady Scott said a lethal weapon had been used but added: “I do not consider this is the kind of case which requires a higher sentence in order to deter the carrying and use of knives on the streets.”
The paperwork from Reid’s defence team was lodged with the High Court of Justiciary office in Edinburgh shortly after she was sentenced.
A detailed document setting out the defence’s grounds of appeal will be lodged at a later date. Reid has eight weeks to complete the formal appeal process.
When a completed appeal is submitted, the case will go to a judge to decide if there are grounds for it to be heard.
If allowed, Reid’s motion would be heard at the High Court in Edinburgh in the Court of Criminal Appeal and would be likely to take place in a three-month period.
If refused, the defence can appeal for a second “sift”, where their case would be brought before a panel of three judges for determination.