A top Scottish human rights lawyer believes changes to the parole system are needed to prevent ‘psychopath’ Dundee murderer Robbie McIntosh going before the board every two years.
Aamer Anwar also wants victims to have more of a role in the process, saying their current input can seem like a box-ticking exercise.
The lawyer represents Linda McDonald, the Dundee gran who survived a brutal attack by McIntosh in Templeton Woods while the convicted killer was on home leave from Castle Huntly for the 2001 murder of Anne Nicoll.
Mr Anwar wants the Scottish Government to address the situation which sees McIntosh regularly considered for release, a process which is deeply distressing for his victims and their families.
“The fact that every (two) years this comes back up again is pretty shocking,” he told The Courier.
“Where it’s pretty clear that individuals cannot rehabilitate as they are a danger to public safety, then I think they do need to look at that.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that this young man (McIntosh) will never be able to rehabilitate.
“And that’s sad, but sometimes people are psychopaths and unable to change.”
‘Nobody has accepted responsibility’
Mr Anwar bemoaned the failings that allowed McIntosh to be released from prison in 2017 to attack Linda.
There were concerns at the time that the killer had played the prison system when he was granted community day release.
He said: “It’s pretty clear that he should have been on the radar and nobody has accepted responsibility.
“The police never accepted responsibility, the prison never accepted responsibility.
“Linda could have been dead and her life has been changed for ever as a result of that man’s actions.”
McIntosh went before the parole board for the second time on August 9 but the case was deferred for six to eight weeks with the new date yet to be set.
Linda attended that hearing in Perth as she battles to keep the killer in prison.
“She is a juggernaut when it comes to this and she hasn’t given up,” said Mr Anwar.
“She wants to make change, she wants ensure that no-one has to suffer what she went through and what her family went through.
“That’s the very least we owe to people like Linda.”
‘The victim should have a role’
As part of her fight for justice, Linda has been outspoken about her relationship with the parole board, claiming it doesn’t care about victims in the wake of their decision to release Angus killer Tasmin Glass.
Victims have long complained that their voices aren’t heard in the process, believing their written representations are merely a box-ticking exercise.
It’s a belief that was given some weight by the parole board themselves when they admitted there was a “misunderstanding” of what the panel can consider from victims.
Under current laws, they can only consider what risk the offender poses to the community – an issue victims would not normally address.
Mr Anwar told The Courier it is time to give victims a greater role in the process.
As part of our A Voice for Victim’s campaign, we want to see a number of reforms to the parole system to put victims first.
Mr Anwar said: “We always hear from the government that the justice system is victim centred and of course the individual – the accused or the convicted – has the rights to personal privacy etc, but the victim should have a role.
“They should know what’s going on and should have some input.
“Quite often they seem to be the last in line to find out what’s going on.
“It sometimes smacks of, this is just a box-ticking exercise they’ve gone through, without any real role for the victim or the victim’s family to play.”
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