Scotland’s Crown Office has come under fire after wife-beating ex-Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker was jailed for 12 months.
Scottish Women’s Aid said they have “significant concerns” about the down-grading of the 71-year-old from Alloa’s case to summary proceedings, meaning a year behind bars was the maximum sentence Sheriff Katherine Mackie could impose upon him.
Sheriff Mackie said Walker had been in “absolute denial” after he was found guilty last month of 23 assaults and one breach of the peace that spanned decades.
Walker’s solicitor Russel McPhate said an appeal against the sentence will be lodged imminently.
While the jail term was widely welcomed by MSPs, opposition politicians and campaigners called into question the decision to hold the case in front of a sheriff, rather than jury.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Women’s Aid said: “We have significant concerns about why domestic abuse continues to be routinely prosecuted in summary courts and intend to raise this with the Scottish Government and the Crown Office.”
A Crown Office spokesman said: “The case wasreported to Crown Counsel for instructions on further procedure. At that time Crown Counsel instructed that the case be tried in the specialist domestic abuse court within Edinburgh Sheriff Court.”