A Perthshire mother has demanded stiffer knife crime punishments after her daughter’s attacker walked free from court this week.
Susan Younger said 16-year-old Lucy could have died after she was knifed in the back by teenager Kelly Ann Reid in Perth city centre last summer.
On Monday, almost 18 months after the attack, Reid was sentenced to a year’s probation prompting the call for tougher sentences.
Susan said: ”I know you can never change what happened but I’m disgusted. I feel the girl should have got something more, even though she was young and a first offender. She hasn’t just carried a knife, she’s actually used it.
”I’m so shocked because my brother used to be a prison officer and said when he used to go up to court with prisoners the judge would say if you’re going to carry a knife, you’re liable to use it.
”We were told by numerous people she would be getting a prison sentence. Lucy would often say to me after hearing the news that they’re saying such and such about clamping down on knife crime, so she thought Kelly Ann Reid would be punished properly.
”I don’t understand why she was given 12 months’ probation.”
Susan added: “I want to try to get across to kids to have nothing to do with knives and to get the law changed. There’s no excuse for carrying a knife, let alone using it.
“I want tougher sentences, even a three-month automatic detention and, within that, time taken to get the help and education they need. Anyone 16 or over is able to be responsible for themselves and knows what they’re doing. They should be given a custodial sentence right away.”
The incident, on June 20 last year, began with a minor dispute in a pizza shop. Lucy walked away but Reid chased her and stabbed her in the back with a penknife.
The wound missed her spleen and liver, avoiding major damage.
Reid, of Falkirk, was 16 at the time. She was spared a custodial sentence because she has been of good behaviour and impressed social workers while on a young offender scheme. The sheriff said he was “duty bound” to impose an alternative because of her age.
Susan said Lucy is still on the road to recovery after her ordeal but has returned to work.
A Scottish Government spokesman would not comment on the case but said: “This Government has made clear that Scotland’s prosecutors and the courts have our full backing in using the full force of the law to punish anyone who carries or uses a knife, with latest statistics showing that knife offenders are now receiving the longest prison sentences in a decade.”