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COURIER OPINION: Doubts over Angus killer Tasmin Glass’ parole bid means she must stay in prison

The parole board's treatment of Steven Donaldson's family in this case is not justice.

Tasmin Glass and Steven Donaldson.
Tasmin Glass and Steven Donaldson.

If there’s doubt, don’t let her out.

For the second time since February, The Parole Board for Scotland has failed to come to a decision on Angus killer Tasmin Glass.

It would be a farcical situation if it wasn’t so serious.

This is a convicted killer hoping to be let out of prison having served just half her sentence.

Tasmin Glass. Image: Wullie Marr

Glass was convicted of culpable homicide in 2019 for her “pivotal role” in the murder of Steven Donaldson in Kirriemuir.

Now she is seeking freedom five years into a ten-year sentence.

The bar at which parole is granted in such situations should be so high any doubt should result in refusal.

The fact the panel cannot come to a conclusion after two attempts suggests there is doubt.

Yet the Donaldson family continue to be retraumatised by proceedings, waiting to see if justice will prevail.

System has no respect for victims

The inability of the parole board to reach a decision in such a high-profile case raises important questions about how it functions.

It again highlights serious concerns about how victims and their families are treated during the process.

The Donaldson family were first notified Glass was eligible for parole more than six months ago.

Steven’s parents, Bill and Pam Donaldson. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson

They waited anxiously until February 28, hoping justice would prevail, before being told no decision could be made and that the board lacked information.

So they waited again for another three months, to be told yet again that no decision could be made.

Again, the board lacked information.

Now they must wait again for a third hearing, with no date set, hoping this time the board has managed to find the mystery piece of missing information, hoping it keeps a “manipulative and devious” killer in jail.

Is this a process treating victims with care and respect? No.

Lack of transparency raises questions

A further question remains for the board – what are they trying to find with this mystery piece of information?

Nobody outside the four walls of The Parole Board for Scotland knows because of the lack of transparency in these proceedings.

They are held in secret with no public oversight – an outlier in a country which claims to have open justice.

This lack of transparency leaves the panel open to questions about what these deferrals and adjournments are seeking to achieve.

We all know that prisons are overcrowded. Is that a factor in their decision making?

We don’t know.

Nobody, except a secret board with the power to turn a 10-year jail sentence for culpable homicide into a five-year term, is privy to such details.

There is no peace for victims

At the heart of all of this remains the victims and the never-ending turmoil our justice system is subjecting them to.

This is a system The Courier wants to change with our A Voice for Victims campaign.

Steven Donaldson.

A few months after her sentence, Glass appealed and lost.

A few years later she was granted day release, with the pleas of the Donaldsons ignored.

Then, less than five years after she was jailed for her role in the murder of their son and brother, the family were forced to start fighting just to keep his killer in jail.

Due to the board’s actions, this case will have them on tenterhooks for the majority of this year.

If they win this battle, the Donaldsons will be forced to restart the fight all over again in just a few short months when Glass once again becomes eligible for parole.

Where is the justice in that?

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